Impossible Fate
by Ana the Romantic
Summary: DG and Cain plan for their marriage and future life together. But once DG goes through her coronation, a piece of her past comes back into the picture that only stirs up all of DG’s plans. Sequel to "A Tale of Ages". C/DG A/G
1. Prologue

**A/N:** All right everybody, this is the sequel that I had promised that I would give you. So tell me what you think and I will start uploading more chapters. This fiction I have already finished. It just needs to be refined and downloaded. That's a good thing considering that I am now in another state for a four month internship. Don't worry I still have internet and should be updating okay. But I might have gaps of time between updates since I will be getting really busy in the next months ahead. Happy reading and I hope you enjoy.

**Impossible Fate**

**Summary**: After the final downfall of the witch, DG and Cain plan for their marriage and future life together. But once DG goes through her coronation, a piece of her past comes back into the picture that only stirs up all of DG's plans.

**Disclaimer**: Again, I do not own the plot, characters or stories from Tin Man or from the Wizard of Oz. I only own this story line and the story from my last fiction and the original characters in both.

**Prologue**:

_There is tell of a story of a treasure of old. The wielder's fate repeats over and over it's told._

_This tale of a dagger that plunges in hearts, used against magic its power makes lovers depart._

_True love is power and love will last, but even royalty cannot escape their past._

_Bonded in heart and love is pure- but when connected by blade it is never grandeur._

_An affect on another heart is tricky and bold,_

_This, the power of metal that has grown so cold…_

A figure stands in the tall cave that had protected the treasure for countless annuals. The only light that broke through the darkness in the whole cavern shown down on a single object placed upon a tall pedestal centralized in the rock's face. The beam of light illuminated the tall pedestal where a red handled dagger laid peacefully atop dark red velvet. The handle shown brilliantly with swirls of blood red colors and gold. The blade itself was black and cold like ice. It had always felt like that, like it had been dumped in the ice lake every morning, and will continue even in the center of the earth. The blade seemed to shift the light on its own accord and beckoned the figure closer.

The figure's steady hand slowly moved toward the treasure, but before he could touch it, a large cane hit the hand away.

"You touch that treasure, and you will never be released from it until your dying breath," an old voice rang out from beside the figure, "Or the death of the one you hold the most dear. The one whose heart you wish to bond."

"If I do not have it, then I will lose her anyway," the figure argued back and circled the pedestal to end up on the other side from the cane wielding elder, "Why do you still guard this relic, old man? So many annuals of your life wasted."

"I do this gladly to tell of my story and to keep younger hearts from making the same mistake," the man walked into the light. He must have been past his eightieth birthday and it showed on his face and in his eyes. The eyes held such wisdom, but that wisdom only hid the immense pain, "I had love once and had used it for my own horrible selfishness. She had died in my arms before I had even told her what I had envisioned. Now we are both lost to this world and the next."

"That will not happen with me."

"Will it not?" the old man paused and took in the appearance of the shadowed visitor, "She loves another, doesn't she?"

"That is not love that she knows. It is convenience or infatuation," the younger bellowed in the cave, "I will show her what it is like with her true love."

"And how do you know it is not true love that she feels now and you are the illusion?" the old man asked back.

"You cannot marry what you think is love. You need to know it. Feel it. And every time that I think of her, I am so happy… so loved. I know it. And if I know it, she must only think it's real with him."

"Is she happy?" the old man asked and made the younger man jump.

"What?"

"Is she happy now, with the man she loves?" the old man asked again.

"She says she is and everyone agrees around her," the man answered.

"Then why take her happiness away only to satisfy your own if you truly love her the way you say?" the old man rose an eyebrow when the young man didn't answer, "Leave her to have her happiness. Let her love who she does. If it is meant to be she will come to you. But never force, for that is not love, but greed… Envy… Malice… All that will destroy you. Why would you need this blade that would take her will and her mind over with thoughts of you, if your love was meant to be?"

The figure stood still on the other side of the pedestal, unable to speak and unable to move.

"Go home, young one," the old man sighed as he shrank back into the shadows and into a chair that was hidden from other's eyes, "Set her free from your heart and you will love again."

"I will never set her free! She is mine!" the figure quickly lunged forward and took the dagger from its place on the velvet.

"You fool! This is not the way!" the old man lunged forward at the figure. Before he could grasp the figure's hand, the blade stabbed into his gut. He was lowered to the ground, blood staining his already soiled clothing.

"I'm sorry, old man," the young man stood and watched as the last of the old man's life slipped away, "Your fate is not my own. I will claim her heart. One way or another."

With that the stronger man walked from the cave, careful to clean off the black blade to make it shine once more. The light slowly faded as life left the old man. The last thing he saw was his blood pooling around his head and the front of the cavern close.

* * *

Princess DG stretched her hands over her head and settled back into the pillows under her head. She noticed the sun on the other side of her eyelids and that Cain would be waking her up soon. He always does by breakfast. He was still her ever present alarm clock and she still tells him he is the best thing to wake up to.

Speaking of Cain…

DG frowned as she swiped her hands over his side of the bed to find it empty. She peaked an eye open and pulled the sheets to her chest as she sat up, "Wyatt?"

She yawned and then looked around the immediate area of the room. No sign of her fiancé and it was way past the time that he would usually wake her up. She could tell from how much light was streaming in through the windows of their room that it was getting to be late morning. She sighed and rubbed her eyes so she could start to think.

"Where did that Tin Man of mine go?"

Unable to come up with the answer right off the bat, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and decided to go looking for him. She giggled at the difference in situation. Usually it was always him trying to find and catch up with her.

It had only been a few weeks since Azkadellia, DG and their mother disintegrated the witch into emerald dust. Finaqua was still a shining example of restoration for the rest of the O.Z. Since DG had fixed it back up with the power of the Ages the palace had never looked better. And, much to her mother's disappointment, she added a children's wing for Azkadellia and Glitch's child. Her mother hasn't let her live it down since she wanted a major part in helping to design it for her grandchildren.

Azkadellia's wedding was in another couple of days and everything was set for the ceremony. Thankfully, DG didn't have to worry about an absurdly huge dress while being the maid of honor- or Wedded Sister as they said on this side of the rainbow. Azkadellia had chosen a beautiful green dress for her that was still princess-like, but kept just on the right side of the girly line. DG shook her head with a chuckle while she remembered that her sister had chosen green- big surprise- and silver for the colors of the wedding. Everyone was so obsessed with green, but at least the color complemented her.

"Okay, what to wear?" DG looked through her huge wardrobe and fluttered her fingers over each choice. She eventually settled on a low cut dark blue, day dress. She didn't feel like searching for her makeshift jeans which were thrown somewhere in the room by Cain last night. She smiled and laughed to herself, "And here I thought I was the crazy one."

After a quick bath, getting dressed and still no sign of Cain she walked out the door and down to the dining hall. It was toward the end of breakfast and if she hurried she would be able to grab something to eat before the servants cleared the table of all food. As she walked she felt a little unsettled. It wasn't like Cain to just up and leave in the morning without any word. He usually would at least leave her a note if he went to early classes with Ahamo or something requiring his approval for security.

Needless to say, she was a bit distracted as she entered the dining hall. At first she didn't notice, but as soon as she looked up she found balloons and streamers decorating the room. She looked behind the table to find her mother, father, sister and Glitch with big smiles on their faces. DG had to make sure that her mouth wasn't agape as she looked at each one of them for an explanation.

"What's all this for?" DG asked.

"You silly," Azkadellia walked around the table and hugged her sister tightly, "Don't you remember your own birthday?"

"My birthday?!" DG's head spun for a moment. It was true that her birthday was mere months away when she left Kansas, but with getting used to the O.Z. calendar she never thought to sit down and figure out when the day was.

"Happy birthday, my little sister," Azkadellia hugged her again and DG could feel a small swell under Azkadellia's day dress. DG smiled and hugged her sister back.

Glitch ran around the table and picked DG up in a hug and swung her around, "Good birthday to you, Doll."

"Thank you, Glitch," DG giggled.

"Congratulations, my angel," her mother kissed her on the forehead, "A whole twenty-two annuals. It seemed only yesterday that I held you in my arms as a babe."

"Mother…" DG blushed from a bit of embarrassment even though she shouldn't be with who was there.

"Good job, spitfire," her father hugged her and stepped back quickly when he felt her head shift, "What's the matter?"

"Have any of you seen Cain this morning?" she asked and noticed that no one else was behind the table, "He wasn't in the bed chambers when I woke up."

Suddenly an arm circled her waist from behind and a small box appeared in front of her face, "Happy birthday, princess."

She smiled as she recognized the voice right behind her ear. She took the box carefully and turned around the stare him in the eyes, "You really should stop sneaking up on me like that, Wyatt."

"Why's that?" he smirked and rested his hands on the small of her back.

"With the power of the Ages, I may be surprised one day not knowing it was you and blast you to Munchkinland."

"I doubt that you wouldn't know it was me," he kissed her softly, "Jeb says he's sorry that he couldn't make it today. Between the new plans with Kelly and his duties at patrolling the borders, he's a busy man. But he really wanted to be here."

"I appreciate that," DG smiled, "Besides he could always make it up to me later, right?"

Cain laughed as he saw her wink at him and then turned her toward the doorway he had just walked through, "And as for my absence this morning, I went to get your other surprises."

"Really? And what might they be?" as she shifted her eyes to the doorway she saw her two robotic foster parents walk through, "Mom! Popsicle!"

She ran toward them and nearly plowed them over once she reached them. All three of them laughed with one another loudly. Cain walked over to stand by Lavender and Ahamo to watch her with her foster parents. Lavender had a large smile on her face. She was glad that they were able to salvage their CPUs and give DG some kind of leg to stand on in a whole new world. She needed that bit of the world she grew up in to help her with this one.

"How's our baby girl doin' on her birthday?" Hank laughed and mussed with DG's hair a little.

"Even better now that you two got here," she laughed, "How'd you know?"

"You think that we wouldn't know our DG's birthday?" Emily joked with her and playfully swatted her with the back of her hand.

"And guess who else we picked up on the way back to the palace," Hank mentioned and tilted his head to the doorway. DG's eyes widened as Raw stepped through with a smile on his timid face.

"Raw!" she yelled and jumped at her other friend, "I'm so glad that you are okay. I was worried that you got caught up with some of what had happened."

"DG save O.Z. again," Raw smiled and stepped back from her to look her in the eyes, "Raw have no worry if in DG hands."

"Thanks Raw," she hugged him again and then turned to the rest of the guests in the room, "So where's the cake and candles? I got a wish to make."

Lavender nor most of the table understood the tradition of wishing on extinguished candles, but Ahamo and DG seemed to enjoy it. Ahamo brought out the chocolate cake and the two candles lit on the top which were both in the shape of a number two. DG closed her eyes and blew out her candles. She quickly took one candle while Azkadellia took the other and both sisters licked the bottom of them so as not to waste the taste of some of the cake.

The small celebration went on without interruption. The small, intimate group danced and talked with one another, caught up with old and new things. In the end, they had all settled into the library with some coffee or hot cider. DG laid back against Cain's chest and smiled from the small celebration. Her sister's wedding was in a couple of days and yet Azkadellia still got together with her mother to throw this little shindig for DG.

"You going to open your gift?" Cain whispered behind her.

She shifted against him and watched the others in discussion, "I thought I'd wait until later."

"What if I'm waiting for you to open it?" Cain asked and rubbed a hand up and down her arm.

"_You_ being- dare I say it… _impatient_. Wow, I thought I'd never see the day," DG smirked and turned around to face him on the small settee and pulled out the small box that he had given her earlier. She was about to open it when she looked at the people in the room and then to the door that was open just off to their side leading into the garden and close to their pool. She quickly put the box back into her pocket, grabbed his arm and led him out the door without anyone in the party being the wiser.

They walked along the short path to the pool where he wrapped his arms around her midsection and his chin on her shoulder as she picked the small box out of her pocket again. She quickly unwrapped the ribbon from around the small, plain box and pulled the lid up. Inside tucked in a little bit of what looked like tissue paper was a small, silver cuff, not even big enough for her pinky. In the middle of the cuff was the royal seal set with a sapphire in the middle.

"Cain, it's beautiful," she admired it as she picked it up carefully with her fingers. She turned it around and he smirked as he noticed that she had no idea how to put it on.

"Do you even know what it is?" he asked.

She grinned sheepishly, "Uh, it might be best if you give me a hint."

He gently took it from her fingers and tilted her head to the side to gently place the cuff on her ear. After he was sure it wouldn't fall he kissed the top of her ear above the cuff and looked back down at her. She smiled and could have smacked herself in the head for being so dense.

"It's an ear cuff," she felt the metal with her finger and smiled as it ran over the small sapphire in the middle, "I haven't had one of these since I was in high school."

"You had these on the other side?" Cain asked.

"Yeah, but not a lot of people wore them. I love it," she kissed his cheek, "I haven't seen many over here either.

"Not many people know of them and they are a hard to find object," Cain explained, "What better to get a unique princess that has nearly everything than a one of a kind piece? I had the silversmith whip it up as a surprise."

"Thank you, Wyatt," she kissed him sweetly.

"Was there anything else that you wanted for your birthday?" he asked as she settled against his chest at the edge of the pool. She hummed contently against his chest with a smile. Her arms tightened around him and she slowly shook her head against him.

"I got everything I want," she closed her eyes as he began to sway her gently back and forth, "And everything I have ever dreamed will be coming true in only a matter or weeks and months. All thanks to you."

"I doubt I had anything to do with it, DG," he put his chin on top of her head and breathed her in.

"Believe it or not, Tin Man, you did in my book," DG picked up her head and kissed him on the lips, winding her arms around his neck. They settled back against the tree, lost in one another and never noticed the laughing pairs of eyes who finally noticed that a princess and her fiancé were missing from the party.


	2. Chp 1: The Big Day!

**Chapter I**: The Big Day!

DG ran down the hall and burst through the door to the main dress maker, "I'm here!"

"Deeg!" Azkadellia looked over her own shoulder at her younger sister. DG grinned sheepishly and jumped onto the second dress pedestal, "What took you so long? I was beginning to worry."

"No worries needed, Az," DG smiled, "Cain woke me up like he was supposed to but then left right afterward. I fell back to sleep, but I'm here now. Let's get me suited up for this thing."

Azkadellia rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the dress marker that was making the last of the adjustments for the walk down the aisle. DG admired her sister's dress. It was white, it was a tradition much like that of the other side, and was a lace up in the back. Her stomach still protruded a little from under all the lace and frills, the corset wasn't as tight as it would be on DG's dress. At least Azkadellia got to breath. The gown was sleeveless and was encrusted with jewels all over the bodice. At the waist the gown fluttered out and almost camouflaged the baby belly that had started to show. Then she wore low slippers to keep herself comfortable. Her princess tiara was placed on top of her hair which was a series of curls and waves for the occasion.

"You getting nervous, Az?" DG asked as the dressmakers shed her of her clothing and pushed her into her dress. She struggled for breath for a few moments when the assistant tightened the corset around her midsection.

"Why would I be nervous?" Azkadellia smiled fondly and stepped down carefully from the pedestal to look up at her sister, "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."

"I bet," DG smiled and then let her eyes bulge with another tug to her corset, "Do you think you could lay off of it for a little while? I think it's tight enough."

The assistant smiled sheepishly at the younger princess and moved on to check over the rest of the dress and the way it fit. It was a lighter color green and seemed like a much more subdued version of Azkadellia's dress. Strapless and the bodice embedded with emeralds instead of diamonds. The skirt started at the waist, but it was a much slimmer skirt than Azkadellia's.

"Okay your highness, you're done with the dress. I suggest you get over to do your hair and face done quickly," the dress maker shooed her off the pedestal.

DG walked briskly with Azkadellia to the next room over. Her hair was done up much like Azkadellia's, but her face was made up with very light and natural shades. Azkadellia didn't want to be flashy for her big day. She wanted to be herself.

At the end of getting their faces done, both Ahamo and Lavender walked into the room and looked over both of their daughters. Azkadellia beamed up at her parents and Lavender encompassed her oldest in a tight hug.

"Oh, my precious 'Dellia," Lavender cooed and stepped back to look over her, "You have become such a beautiful woman. Ambrose is a lucky man indeed."

"A very lucky man," Ahamo repeated in agreement, tears already glazing his eyes. He hugged her tight to him and then took a deep breath, "I knew this day would come, but I feel like it's come too soon."

"Oh daddy," Azkadellia sighed and hugged him back.

"Excuse me, your majesties," Kelly popped her head into the room and bowed her head, "The alter is ready and the room is full. We are all ready when the bride is."

"I believe that they will need me at the alter," Lavender smiled and kissed Azkadellia on the cheek, "I will see you out there, my dear."

"Yes, mother," Azkadellia nodded and Lavender walked out of the room.

"Are you ready to go as well, spitfire?" Ahamo looked at DG.

"Ready and raring to go," DG smiled and handed Azkadellia her bouquet and held tightly to Glitch's ring beneath her own bouquet ready to hand it over to Azkadellia during the ceremony.

She looped her arm with her sister's on the way down the long hall to the double doors with Ahamo right behind them. Both girls peeked out on the crowd that had gathered and a few dignitaries sprinkled within.

"I don't envy you right now, my sister," DG laughed to herself softly and looked at the crowd closely, "That's quite a crowd you have there."

"Yours will be bigger," Azkadellia smiled as DG huffed and leaned away from the door, "Remember, you will be the future queen, not I."

"Don't remind me," DG rolled her eyes.

The hall was decorated in every corner and pedestal in green and silver. Flowers bloomed in every vase with the two colors. The hall was modestly decorated for a wedding, but it must have been Azkadellia's choice. The last thing she wanted was to bring any more unwanted attention to her.

DG's eyes then looked at the front of the room where a small, silver alter stood. Her mother was behind it with a man that she would have assumed was like a priest on this side. Her father later explained that he was more of an announcer and would have actually very little to say after the beginning. Glitch stood to one side, apparently nervous and Cain at his side with a smirk on his face. Cain would lean over every few moments and would whisper something in Glitch's ear or pat him on the back. Apparently the Wedded Brother would stand with the groom instead of walking with the rest of the wedding party down the aisle.

"Cain does clean up very nicely, doesn't he?" Azkadellia asked.

"You have no idea," DG smiled with specific memories.

Ahamo linked Azkadellia's arm with his, "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Azkadellia smiled and put a hand over her stomach.

DG put a hand over hers with a reassuring smile, "Let's get you down to your future husband."

DG took her place in front of them as the doors opened and the aisle was a head of her. She was the first down the aisle and settled on the opposite side from Glitch and Cain, flashing a smile to Cain who was staring very intently at the dress and how it did wonders for her breast line.

'So he did notice…'

DG giggled lightly and turned to the aisle where Azkadellia and their father now walked slowly. There was a specific tune that must have been the O.Z.'s version of the wedding march since everyone knew to stand for the bride. DG could see her sister take deep breaths with every other step. She was as nervous as Glitch was and DG expected him to sweat bullets any moment now.

As they reached the alter Ahamo kissed Azkadellia on each cheek and hugged her tightly, "I'm proud of you, Azkadellia. Always will be."

"I know daddy," she whispered back to him, "Thank you."

"Who gives this man this woman?" the man at the alter asked.

"I and the Queen of this land, the father and mother of this woman, do," Ahamo said loudly. Glitch turned to him and offered his hand to Azkadellia. Ahamo gently placed her hand in his and smiled warmly at Glitch before he turned and stood next to Lavender behind the alter.

"All may be seated," the man told the attendants and the hall echoed as the guests sat down.

In the front row DG could make out Kelly and Jeb who had just come back from reconstructing the Southern borders. She also could see the slight glint of a ring on Kelly's left hand which meant that she and the young woman would have a talk later. Raw sat next to them well groomed and washed for the occasion. Tutor sat at the very end with misty eyes. It was the first time DG saw that man shed a tear. She quickly turned back to the ceremony and stood tall next to Azkadellia.

"We are here in this glorious palace, for a glorious occasion," the man began and looked between the two of them, "To place two lives into one cup and watch the wonders of a future take hold. The bonding of two hearts in such a way they will never be broken and they will never lose one another. This the day of Princess Azkadellia and Advisor to the throne Ambrose union… be blessed by the unnamed God.

"I will open the floor to the two to say their blessings and their vows," the man stepped back and Glitch took a deep breath while he looked upon Azkadellia.

"I have no idea how I became so lucky," he began and Azkadellia smiled to keep tears from coming, "I love you and have loved you since the days before I even knew who you were. I love your spirit, your true spirit. And I love the true you that was always there. I will never leave your side and you need not ask me why. I cannot. Not in my heart and not in my soul. I will never leave you, Azkadee. And I will never stop loving you."

Azkadellia smiled wider and had to take a deep breath to compose herself before she began hers, "I have waited fifteen annuals in a prison without bars, without gates and most of all without love. I have had to wonder what it felt like as I had forgotten. But once you came stumbling back with my sister in tow, I felt again. And to know that I have found my heart again in you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you, my heart. Always will."

Lavender Eyes stepped forward and smiled at the two ahead of her, "Does the wedded brother have the ring?"

Cain stepped forward, handed Glitch the ring and then stood back into his place.

"Ambrose, repeat after me," Lavender instructed as Glitch looked into Azkadellia's eyes, "With this endless ring, I give you my endless love…"

"With this endless ring, I give you my endless love…"

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more."

DG looked at Cain and saw that his eyes were focused on her through the whole vow. She stared straight back at him and absentmindedly felt the band of her engagement ring.

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more," Glitch let out a breath he pushed the ring onto her finger.

"Does the wedded sister have the ring?" Lavender looked at DG. DG tore her own eyes from Cain's and copied his movements. She handed Azkadellia the ring and then stepped back to her place.

"Again, repeat what I say," Lavender spoke softly, "With this endless ring, I give you endless love…"

"With this endless ring, I give you endless love…"

DG looked at Cain once more and smiled to still see his eyes on her. She silently found herself saying the words in her own head and picturing the two of them saying them instead of her sister.

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more."

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more," Azkadellia slid the larger ring onto Glitch's finger and they interlaced their hands with one another.

"Is there any of those present who wish to speak against this union?" Lavender looked over the crowd which stood silent at her question. DG smiled to herself. She would have killed anyone who would have spoken against Azkadellia and Glitch. Lavender Eyes nodded and continued.

"By the power bestowed upon the house of Gale…" Lavender Eyes put her hand over their interlaced ones and a light began to glow between hers, "I give not only my blessing but solidifying the union of this man and woman. In all eyes, ears and hearts they are now recognized as man and wife."

She stood back and the light still surrounded their hands, "Ambrose, you may kiss Azkadellia, your wife."

She didn't have to tell him twice as he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. DG smiled and let out a whoop of celebration, which in turn earned a few laughs and chuckles before the hall erupted in applause. The light faded slowly and Glitch and Azkadellia led the way down the aisle, DG and Cain falling behind them.

The ceremony seemed to be the big, fancy to do for all the dignitaries and high people on the O.Z. totem pole since the reception was smaller and more intimate. The family, the Cains, Kelly, Raw and Tutor were all there of course, but there were a few royal guards who were instrumental at stopping the witch the second time around who stayed and talked with the royal family. Most of the other guests had retired and rode back to their lands until DG's coronation day which wasn't that far off.

Azkadellia smiled and laughed as she danced with Jeb, Cain and Raw. Glitch had made sure to steal her for many of the dances that followed. She couldn't keep the tears back when Ahamo had stolen her for the father-daughter dance and DG could barely do the same. She was happy to see Azkadellia smile so much in one day.

Cain came behind DG and wrapped his arms around her waist, "How are you doing, Wedded Sister?"

"I'm doing just fine," she smiled and leaned back into him, "It's good to see her so happy. It's been a while since I've seen her smile so much. He's the right one for her."

"And vice-versa," Cain nodded and put his chin on top of her head, "Where are they heading after this?"

"The Ice Palace," DG involuntarily shivered, "It's a home away from home for her and a place to get away from all the business here."

"What about your coronation?"

"They'll be back before then," DG nodded, "They want to keep it short and come back to get things set up for the baby and Az said she wanted to help me with a few things with my coronation and wedding."

"Hmm," he hummed and watched Glitch take Azkadellia's hand from Ahamo to dance with his new wife once again. They kept their eyes glued to one another and swayed to the gentle music.

DG smiled and felt Cain begin to sway both of them as well. She shifted her eyes to look up with him when she thought she saw someone through the windows. She stood a bit more rigid and passed her eyes over the window again to find no one there.

"DG?" Cain asked feeling the change in her posture.

"I thought I saw something," DG looked at the glass and saw a few reflections of the guests. She shook it off with a shake of her head, "It must have been a reflection."

"Are you sure? I can-"

"DG need dance," Raw came up to her and grabbed her from Cain's arms and out to the dance floor. She laughed as the beat of a new song sped up and Raw began dancing with it.

Cain smiled at Raw and then turned to the window. He too saw reflections of guests and of the family, but he also knew that DG wasn't the only one who saw something off. He saw a figure too and he could have sworn that it was on the other side of the glass. Then again, DG could have been right about it being a reflection.

"Mister Cain," Kelly put a hand on his arm and got him out of his thinking, "Always so serious?"

"Not always," he grinned at the young lady, "Where did my boy go?"

"I think I may have tired him out of the dance floor," she nodded to where Jeb was standing with a few of the guards and Tutor, "Would you mind accompanying me for a go around?"

"I would be honored," he nodded and they began to dance next to Azkadellia and Glitch. For the moment the figure in the glass forgotten as a reflection.

* * *

A day after Azkadellia and Glitch left for the Ice Palace DG was sitting in the drawing room with her mother going over the information for her coronation. She sat straight backed and looked over the colors that were laid out in front of her. Emily was sitting in the corner organizing some of the already picked materials and colors which may or may not make it into the actual coronation ceremony.

"Do we really have to go through all of this?" DG asked and sneered at the fancy things they 'must have' for the occasion, "I mean, Az's wedding wasn't this elaborate."

"It didn't _look_ as elaborate," Lavender corrected her, "There is a difference and it was your sister's choice to have it that way."

DG huffed, "Can't you just wave a hand and say that I'm next in line and be done with it?"

"If it was that easy, there wouldn't be an occasion, my angel."

"Even better!" DG smiled and threw her arms up.

"You're not getting out of it, now which shades do you like better?" Lavender pushed a piece of paper with material at her. She sighed and pointed at a darker shade of gold. DG looked at the guard outside of the door and then back at her mother.

"Where's Cain? I thought he usually didn't have lessons today," she asked, interrupting Lavender who was explaining the importance of the throne.

"With your father," she sighed in understanding that DG wasn't paying attention once again, "As your intended he must be announced at the coronation. Otherwise courtiers and suitors would begin asking for their right to court you for your hand in marriage right after the ceremony. He must learn of the process and your father knows every step."

"Great…" DG rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes, DG," Emily scolded from her side of the room, "And listen to your mother- or mothers in this case. Just think, the sooner this is done, the sooner you could get out of here. This is the only thing you have to do today."

DG nodded and tried to focus on her mother's instructions.

* * *

Cain, Hank and Ahamo sat in the king-consort's study also discussing the upcoming event. Ahamo sat on the corner of his desk and fed information to Cain as Hank just absorbed all of it.

"And then it's done," Ahamo sighed and ran a quick hand through his hair, "You got it, Cain?"

Cain sat with his mouth a little ajar and overwhelmed by the information, "It seems a bit much, to tell you the truth."

"It's just the beginning," Hank patted the poor guy on the back as Ahamo laughed.

"He's right," Ahamo nodded in agreement, "Just wait until you get into the politics around here… without your six-shooter."

"Great…" Cain could already feel his headache coming on.


	3. Chp 2: Coronation Blues

**Chapter II**: Coronation Blues

DG sat behind the small desk in her room staring blankly at the different papers flooding over her desk. There were about five questions given to her by her mother earlier in the day and she required an answer to all of them by the end. She looked at the different drawings of what the hall would look like once decorated, or she could decide on an outdoor ceremony where the choices would have to be made all over again. She groaned and put a hand to her temple to ease out the headache from all the plans.

Cain walked in the room and immediately went behind her chair to rub out her muscles around her shoulders. She groaned in appreciation and leaned back against the backrest of the chair and his hands.

"Last minute details for the coronation?" he asked as he leaned over her right shoulder to look at the paper work. She only nodded in response. He smirked and kissed her on the forehead before he leaned back and began to message her upper back.

"How's lessons with father?" she looked up at him with a small smile.

"The same as always. How was yours with Tutor?"

DG shook her head, "No Tutor today. Mother had me in her office before I was even decently awake. More plans about this and that- 'Oh! What about this color, DG? That would look lovely on the stairway in the ball room. Are you sure you don't want it outside? There would be more room for more guests. How about we also start on your wedding? Might as well get it started.' It's an absolute nightmare. It's like my mother's soul purpose in life is to make this the fanciest shin dig in the whole of O.Z. Oh great, there's that headache I was wondering about…"

Cain laughed at her impressions of her mother, "It'll calm down after the wedding. No more ceremonies for a while and we can just keep to ourselves for a week or so. I promised you, remember?"

"Sounds good," DG sighed and turned in her chair to stare into his eyes, "I have an idea. Let's just ditch the ceremonies and skip to that week. My father and I have already found a cabin for us to use on our honeymoon. No interruptions and no one would even know we are there."

He laughed at her enthusiasm despite the strange word for the after wedding consummations, "I would love to- I mean, _really_ love to, kiddo, but we have to go through the steps at one point or another. I'd much rather get it all done now so we don't have to worry about the back log of it later."

"Damn it," she cursed and settled over a list of possible instruments that will be playing the O.Z. anthem.

"Your father is talking to me about going with him on a mission to the outer lands," he mentioned and leaned against her desk next to her, "To the Northern forests to help rebuild what the Longcoats had destroyed. It's a way to show my support as the upcoming prince-consort."

DG thought back to their journey through the Northern forests where they had found the empty town and the graves scattered behind it. She shivered a little and Cain turned to her in understanding. He didn't like to think back to that place either, but other people needed to rebuild their lives. And with the O.Z. starting to calm down it's the perfect time to go where he could help them do just that.

She took a deep breath and looked back up at him, "When are you two thinking about leaving?"

"About a day or two after your coronation is over," he nodded, "We'll be gone for a week at the most. Just to show our support and help build on a few homes. Then I'll be back to help you with our wedding plans."

"Good, I don't need to face my mother alone on those," DG stood up and kissed him soundly on the lips, "Even with Az's help, it will be a battle."

"Are you going to be able to stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"

"Now, seriously Wyatt…" she frowned at him which quickly turned to a smirk, "Where's the fun in that?"

"I'll show you fun," he grabbed for her only to miss and hit her chair instead.

She smiled back at him, "Now, now Wyatt. If we are to start any of that you have to make sure that you have locked the door to our room. We don't need anyone walking in on us, do we?"

"What makes you think I didn't lock it?" he took off his fedora and duster and put them over the chair at the desk as he knew that she was going to be difficult. He always liked the challenge. Maybe that's why he loved the woman so much.

"Ah, so you did have this planned," she circled around her desk as he calmly rolled his sleeves up. His eyes focused on her form and the smirk never left his face.

"I might have had the inkling," he began to round the desk and she shifted to walk the other way. She wanted to keep at least five feet between them. In her large room, it was pretty easy to do, "And where do you think you are going, princess?"

"Oh I don't know," DG walked around some of the seats near the fireplace, lightly touching the fabric at the top of each of them, "Just thought I needed to stretch out my legs. Sitting at a desk all day does not bode well for a princess."

"And a certain princess trying to dance away from her fiancé does not bode well for said fiancé," he rounded the foot stool and closed the distance to three feet without DG catching it.

"Who says I'm dancing away?" she stopped and looked him in the eyes. He stopped in his spot and watched her movements. She was gripping the back of one of the chairs tightly and her head was bent just so slightly to the side. She was thinking of making a break for it and he knew it, "I mean, why dance when I could run."

She jumped to her left side and right into his awaiting arms. She squealed in delight as he brought her in to his chest and swung her full circle. He laughed with her and held her tightly against him as she swung her feet in front of her. He then leaned over her ear, "You should know by now you could never escape me."

DG felt the shiver flow down her spine from his words, "Why would I ever want to do that?"

Cain growled and turned her around only to push her against one of the nearby walls. He immediately had his lips on hers and his hand creeping up her leg and under her skirt. Her hands held his face and every once in a while one hand would run through his hair. He pushed his body up against hers and gained a moan from her. His lips moved from hers and down her neck and onto her throat.

"Wyatt…" DG breathed and felt his arousal through his pants and her skirt which was now hiked up thanks to his hand. He played with the top of her thong underwear and smiled against her neck.

"You wore them again," he whispered and pushed his hips against hers again, "Now tell me princess, was I the only one planning for this today?"

"That's a good question," she tilted her head to the side to give him better access, "You could get a better answer on the bed."

He picked her up almost effortlessly and threw her to the bed, shedding his vest and his shirt. After they were off her dress quickly followed them to floor. He stared down at her nearly naked form, of which the thong was the only piece of material left.

"Thank the unnamed God," he murmured as he begun to kiss her pulse spot on her neck. She pushed her head back into the pillow and let her hands trail down to the front of his pants. They were quickly gone as she unfastened and he shimmied out of them. One of his hands went to her hip as the other cradled her breasts. She arched up into his hand and he kissed lower, settling his mouth over the other breast.

"Oh God…" she muttered and pushed her hips toward his.

This was his breaking point. This was not supposed to be slow and romantic. This was passion at its most primal need. And they both knew it. Well, at least he did. DG was about to find out.

He leaned back from DG and roughly grabbed her hips in both of his hands. She looked up at him a little startled from the immediate shift. She focused on his eyes and noticed that this wasn't the same Wyatt that she made love to the first time. This was a Wyatt that would keep her in bed until he was done. He suddenly pulled her toward him, burying into her all the way. Her head fell back into the pillow as a strangled yell fell from her lips. His tight hold on her hips only strengthened as he began to thrust into her harder. She cried out his name every time he hit, his flesh contacting hers with every push.

"Ah… DG," Cain pushed harder, trying to get her to reach her peek a long with him, "DG, I…"

"Don't apologize," she said quickly before another thrust and pushed up against him, "I… oh God, I love… you."

He growled and turned her over only to pull her back toward him and kiss down her back. His teeth scraped her shoulder blades and her arms fell to gel. Her face landed into her bed, supported barely by her forearms as Cain kept pushing forward. He felt his end coming and DG wasn't far from hers as well.

DG finally felt herself clamping over him and screamed out his name against the sheets. He yelled against her back and lightly bit on the nape of her neck. He released her from his grip and they both fell to the bed panting.

Cain crawled up next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. She turned around to face him.

"I thought we were going to wait on that whole week in bed thing," DG chuckled and ran a hand over his chest.

"This isn't a week," Cain kissed her forehead, "But if I have to wait much longer to make you my wife, we might have to make that week into a month."

"I hear you there," she settled against him for a few more moments until tending to more of her mother's paperwork.

* * *

"Okay mother, four hundred and two! That's my final offer," DG hit her mother's desk with her open palm after pushing through her doors.

Lavender stared up from her paperwork, "Good morning to you too, my angel. You haven't had breakfast yet, I am guessing."

"This has nothing to do with breakfast," DG cocked her head to the side at her mother's correct guess.

"You are usually on the cranky side when you haven't had breakfast yet, darling," her mother offered as an explanation.

DG shook her head at the comment to clear it from her mind and got to the bottom of what she wanted to tell her mother, "We've been going over this planning for a month now! Az has been gone the whole time and every time I need to talk to another female, up pops the coronation with you. So I'm telling you now, four hundred and two for the number of guests."

"DG, the hall holds over six hundred-"

"Then we give the poor people some breathing room," DG heard Cain chuckle as he made himself comfortable in one of the chairs by the now open doors. Neither one of them had classes with Tutor or Ahamo that day and DG wanted to get the last of the coronation plans done earlier much rather than later. She and Cain had planned a nice horse ride around Finaqua and the surrounding woods and she wanted to go and not have to come back until the second sun was lowering behind the mountains.

"But that would leave out over a hundred leaders of the realms!" Lavender put a hand to her chest as if those hundred odd people would die if they weren't invited to her single coronation.

"Mother…" DG groaned, "We do not need every mayor and lord in attendance. They will know by the word of mouth, they don't need to see every single moment of my life play out in front of their eyes. Please, they will understand."

"Not all of them will. If you have forgotten, some people still doubt in the rule of our family. This would be a great starting point for them to begin to accept once more. This is a momentous occasion for the House of Gale as well as the entire O.Z. You are becoming heir apparent and everyone in the land must recognize that."

"I just don't see why we don't just post flyers or something," DG blew some of her hair from her eyes in annoyance.

"Come now, little sister, at least she's giving you a choice on the number of people at your wedding," Azkadellia said from the doorway, a small bag still in her arms from her journey, "If she had anything to say about it you would probably have over a thousand guests for that."

"Az, you're home!" DG ran to her sister and hugged her tightly, "You have no idea how much I've missed you. If it hadn't been for Cain and Raw I would have lost it- Wow, you've gotten big!"

"Thank you, DG," Azkadellia rolled her eyes, rubbed a hand over her ever swelling stomach and turned to Cain, "Good morning, Cain. Thank you for keeping her sane."

"All in a day's work," he tipped his hat with a smile, "How was your trip to the Ice Palace?"

"Exhausting," Glitch came around the corner holding another small bag and leaned on the door frame, "Thanks for asking."

"Ah, so you did wear him out, huh Az?" DG smirked and nudged her sister in the side, careful to miss her ever growing stomach. Azkadellia could not hide her blush and neither could Glitch.

Cain stood up and took Glitch by the arm to talk some things over with him. He quickly looked back at DG before turning the corner, "We'll be down in the kitchens. I think it's best if he had something to eat."

"Okay, we'll meet you down there after a little while," DG nodded at him with a smile.

Azkadellia quickly turned to her mother, "Mother, can we not keep the event to include the main dignitaries and top leaders of the realms? That way the majority of the lands are represented and the lower officials will be trickled the information through the higher authorities. Maybe not everyone will acknowledge us at first, but with the higher authorities recognizing us the others would more than likely soon follow."

Lavender sighed and looked at her older daughter and then back to DG, "That would still bring the number up to five hundred."

"I can live with that," DG nodded enthusiastically seeing the end to all this planning in sight.

"Okay, I will send out the invitations within the week," Lavender rose from behind her desk and walked over to hug Azkadellia gently, "It's good to have you home, my 'Dellia."

"And it feels even better that you're on my side," DG grinned. All three of the women began to laugh with one another. The queen looked back at her desk and seemed to think something over in her head.

"Why don't you come down with us, mother?" Azkadellia asked, "It looks as if you could use a break from all the paperwork."

Lavender tore her eyes from the desk and looked at both her daughters, "I would love to, but I need to get this all finalized."

"Don't over exert yourself," DG warned.

"Have you felt any movement yet?" the queen asked and put a hand over Azkadellia's stomach to distract herself just a moment longer.

"A little, but I'm not quite sure if that's the baby or something else in my body," Azkadellia admitted, "It's a bit weird to have another life inside my body. Be it a monstrous amount of difference between this little miracle and the witch."

"I agree," DG nodded and the queen sighed.

"You two get down to the kitchens. I know DG hasn't had anything to eat this morning and you are now eating for two, Azkadellia," she pushed at her daughter's backs. They nodded and bid their mother a good morning before disappearing down the hall.

Lavender Eyes settled back into her chair behind her desk and looked at the main piece of paper that was giving her so much trouble. The title was in big gold letters, heavy on her mind. She shifted some of the other papers over it and tried to concentrate on the up coming celebrations.

* * *

Later that evening the small group found themselves in the library once again just enjoying one another's company. Raw was called to do some service with in the palace walls and wasn't able to join the rest of his friends. The fireplace was lit at the side of the room as all four of them gathered around it. DG and Cain had settled on a small love seat sized couch under a warm blanket since the equivalent of winter months were starting to hit the O.Z. Glitch was sitting on one end of the couch as Azkadellia stretched across the rest of it and rested her head on his leg.

DG turned to Azkadellia, "How is married life treating you so far anyway?"

"It is a challenge, but we are adjusting," Azkadellia nodded, "It's a bit more complicated than mother had made it out to be."

"More complicated than _mother_ said? And here I thought she had loved to complicate things," DG's eyes bulged and she hit Cain playfully in the shoulder, "Then we have got to be careful."

He grunted with a smirk on his face.

"We're still trying to settle on a name for the little one," Glitch mentioned and placed a hand over Azkadellia's belly.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" DG asked excitedly.

"We don't know yet and there is no way to tell," Glitch explained.

"Since I'm no longer the heir apparent, it could go either way," Azkadellia explained.

"Wait- what do you mean?" DG asked.

"The royal Gale line always has female heirs," Azkadellia smiled, "Your first child will be a girl. I hope you have names picked out. It would save a lot of time. Believe me."

"How do I not know these things?!" DG frowned and scooted back closer to Cain who was laughing quietly into her hair.


	4. Chp 3: Just One After Another

**Chapter III**: Just One After Another

DG looked at her reflection silently in the ridiculously large mirror in her room. Emily had just finished getting her all zipped up and had fled to the main hall to watch the ceremony. At least she had her mom and Popsicle there for her.

DG's eyebrows furrowed as she pulled at some of the lace on the white gown. It reminded her of a wedding gown. Not one that she would wear, but a wedding gown none the less. Half of her wanted to tear the dress off, the other half wanted to pretend that the day was her wedding day instead of her coronation. At least then she would be ready to go and a lot happier than what she was at the moment.

She sighed and dropped the piece of the lace dress so that it fell back to place on the skirt. The bodice was embroidered with diamonds and sapphires, apparently to bring out her eyes. It was strapless and was pulled tight around her waist to keep it up. The skirt billowed from her waist and floated just above the floor thanks to her silver heels. They were nothing like the famous slippers… at least those were flat. She blew some of the curls of her hair from her face and looked over her reflection again. She was beautiful in the dress and her hair done up, but she didn't feel completely right.

"Why do I have to do this?" she looked into her own eyes and searched for an answer, "This isn't me… It can't really be me."

She noticed a small glimmer through her hair and caught sight of the small ear cuff that Cain had got her for her birthday. She had snuck it onto her ear after the maids had finished with her hair. At least something brightened up her outlook on the outfit.

The door behind her opened and she saw Cain stick his head through, "DG, are you almost ready? They're starting to introduce the royals and you're still missing in action."

DG looked away from him and to her reflection again. She heard him sigh and then the door close. His boots skidded a little against the marble as he made his way to her and settled behind her. He was in a white suit with a sapphire blue sash and belt more than likely made to match her coronation dress. He was very handsome when dressed up for formal occasions, but she still missed his hat. She was used to him in his casual attire and she knew he wanted his clothes back as much as she wanted her jeans back. She could see him fighting to keep from pulling at the collar of his jacket and a small smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth before dropping back to a thin line.

"How's it settling, kiddo?" he asked and put a hand on each of her hips from behind.

"Not good," she shook her head. She saw his head peer over her shoulder at her reflection. His eyes skimmed the line of the bodice and the way the lace dripped from her waist.

"You look exquisite," he whispered into her ear.

"I don't look like me," she responded, "But thanks for the compliment. You look very dashing in your suit."

He grumbled something under his breath before responding with, "It's not me either."

She nodded in understanding and leaned back into him a little, forcing his hands completely around her waist, "Well, look at us. We're just a couple of people where royalty was flung at them and want nothing to do with it. You can still get out of it you know. Cut strings and take off into the sunset on your horse never to be heard from again."

"No chance," he answered immediately, "I may be uncomfortable, but I'm not letting you go. And I especially won't let you go down this road by yourself."

She closed her eyes for just a moment and could almost see herself out of the stupid dress and back in their bed. His heart beating loudly beneath her ear giving her more comfort and warmth then he would ever know.

"This doesn't define you, DG," Cain turned them both from the mirror. He then turned her around to look her in the eyes, "You are you and I love you. Be you a princess or a hell of confused slipper that fell into my lap. But this is part of who you are and who you were meant to be. It's up to you on how you face it. Either way I will be by your side. Have since the moment we met and always will be."

"Remind me to get you to train any and all of our negotiators," she smiled and kissed him lightly, "You know exactly what to say in almost every situation."

He smirked at the compliment.

"You talking me up to lead me into battle?" she asked as she laughed.

"I don't know. Are you ready to face the crowds?" he asked.

"You will be there, right?"

"Right by your side," he nodded and kissed the top of her knuckles, "Where you'll always find me."

"Then yeah, I think I'm good," she interlocked her arm with his and they exited their room and down the hall toward the coronation hall.

As they neared the curtain DG could hear the announcer's voice just ending the introduction to Glitch and Azkadellia. Apparently they had just walked through the curtain and joined her mother on the small stage that was set up for them. She wanted to peer through the curtain to look at the multitude of guests, but couldn't bring herself to do it. The last thing she needed was to loose her nerve and go running back to her room only to escape in a travel storm moments later.

"So did mother keep her promise as far as the number of people?" DG asked Cain and tightened her grip on his arm.

"Five hundred exactly," he nodded, "I counted as they came through the garden gates from my window… where they stuck me in this ridiculous suit."

DG laughed to herself and peered behind him at the seat of his pants, "I don't know if it's all that ridiculous. At least I get a good view out of it."

"DG," he chided her which only gained another giggle from the princess on his arm. At least he was making her laugh. Only a moment ago he was sure she was going to rip his arm off with the grip she had on him.

"Are you ready, your highness?" one of the pages at the side of the door asked her. She nodded her head a bit hesitantly. He nodded back and opened the curtain.

"And now introducing the saviors of the O.Z., Princess Dorothy Gale and her escort Wyatt Cain!" the announcer yelled from his small podium from the bottom of the stairs.

DG's eyes widened at the crowd of people below that was cheering and waving at her. She recognized some of the guild fighters, or munchkins, from after her crash landing and a few dozen seers were sprinkled through out the crowd. There was a large group of them toward the middle of the crowd and she saw Raw at the front of the group. Most of the other guests had shawls much like Cain's but in different colors and some had jewels or medals pinned upon them. She caught Jeb and Kelly dressed up toward the front of the room smiling brightly and clapping along with the rest of the guests. She barely caught sight of Emily and Hank since they were at the far side of the hall.

"Let's get your feet moving," Cain whispered to her and they began their way to descend the stairs.

"We're saviors now?" DG asked through a clenched, fake smile and waved at the crowd who clapped a little more vigorously.

"Have been since you stepped foot on this side of the rainbow," Cain didn't even try to hide his response and escorted her down the stairs.

They got down without an incident and he set her in her chair before settling into his own beside her. She let out a breath of relief. She thought for a moment that he was going to stand behind her like he had done at the ball months ago. And that would only begin to agitate her.

Lavender and Ahamo sat together on one side of the stage opposite from DG and Cain. Azkadellia and Glitch sat behind Lavender and Ahamo in smaller chairs. Lavender had told DG that it symbolized that one side of the family was giving power over to the other. Azkadellia had stepped down as heir apparent, so she sat behind the now reigning queen in representation of that fact. In the middle of the stage was the main throne. It was the seat of power and DG would have to sit in it for the first time today.

She sighed and then looked over the crowd and saw a few dozen younger men with disappointed looks on their faces. DG leaned over once all of the guests sat in their seats to Cain and whispered, "I saw quite a few disappointed faces of would be suitors out there. Do you think they know?"

"Quite possibly," he nodded, "Your father had said that the princess that becomes heir apparent usually made that walk on her own, but if she is escorted by a gentleman, they would usually announce their engagement toward the end of the coronation."

"So in lamens terms, yes, they know," DG nodded and sat back into her seat.

Lavender stood from her seat as soon as she noticed that all the guests were seated and the page at the side of the room announced her. She smiled at DG and then looked over the crowd with a wide sweep of her eyes. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"You'll have to excuse me," she began with a light laugh, "This is my first time leading a coronation. The last time there was one I was the one in my daughter's seat."

The majority of the hall laughed politely and waited for her to continue.

"Today is a joyous a momentous celebration. My daughter Dorothy Gale has graciously accepted her right as princess and is becoming the heir apparent."

At this the hall erupted in thunderous claps and hoots of joy from the guild fighters from munchkinland. DG smiled at the support of the leaders of the world she would some day lead. As the cheering calmed down to polite clapping Lavender continued.

"I now ask that my oldest daughter, Azkadellia join me," she looked at Azkadellia who slowly rose from her seat with one hand on her belly and the other trying to balance her. She walked up to Lavender and put both her hands in her mother's, "As first heir apparent you have evoked the right of passage to not take the throne of our kingdom. As such, you hold no power to the throne unless your sister is unable to do so."

Azkadellia bowed her head, "I do indeed."

"DG, my angle, please step forward," Lavender looked back to DG who walked up to both of them. Lavender placed her directly across from Azkadellia and had both girls hold one another's hands, "As you have agreed, Azkadellia, so you are now bound. As you couple hands with your sister, your right of passage has been passed to her and her decedents."

Lavender encompassed her hands over the pair of her daughter's and closed her eyes, "With my blessing and my power as reigning monarch of the lands, I give the passage to the younger princess, Dorothy Gale."

Another set of polite clapping flowed from the crowd and Lavender stepped back from the two sisters. Azkadellia looked deep into DG's eyes and noticed her hesitation and possibly some fear. Her thumb gently crossed over the back of DG's hand in an action of comfort and support.

"You will be the greatest of them all, little sister," Azkadellia said softly so only she could hear her, "Of all queens and all monarchs. Your name will be right next to our greatest grandmother, the original Dorothy Gale."

"Yeah, there's no pressure there at all, right? Thanks for the great name choice goes to our parents," DG smiled at her sister nervously, "Thank you, Az. It means a lot to me."

After their hands disconnected they hugged one another and Azkadellia walked back to her chair by Glitch who held her hand tightly.

DG stood next to her mother who took her hands in hers and stared into her eyes, "Dorothy Gale, my angel, you are in the position to be the next queen of our land, our home the O.Z. You are faced today with the choice to take the throne after my lead or to let the land fend for itself. As the next princess in the Gale line, by blood you are the last left to lead, what do you choose?"

DG took a deep breath and noticed that the hall had become deathly silent. She looked into the eyes of her father, sister and Glitch as they all sat behind her mother. She turned her head to look at Cain who sat tall against his seat and gave her a smile of encouragement. She took a quick sweep over the representatives of the people of the lands and nodded her head.

She turned back to her mother and bore into her eyes. She thought over the words and how to answer before she began to speak. She and her mother went over the words dozens of times, she couldn't miss them up now, "Queen Lavender Eyes, my mother and Queen of the O.Z., I give you my answer. The answer if passage of the right to the throne was wasted. If I will bound myself to the throne of this land to the end of my days or until I step down to my successor. To say yes or no to the responsibility and the power over this mighty land, our home. I give you my answer and it is this…"

Again the hall was deathly silent and DG smiled brightly, "… I take the position of heir apparent. I take the position to become future queen of the O.Z., the Outer Zone."

As soon as the last words left her lips the crowd clapped and cheered for the new queen-to-be. Lavender Eyes hugged her youngest daughter close and whispered in her ear, "You did so well, DG. I am so proud of you, my angel."

DG was then led by her mother to the throne and was sat onto its plush cushion. DG settled into it and sighed in relief. All of it was over and decided. She thought that she would have felt a huge burden settle over her once she took the position of heir apparent. But strangely, the burden never came. She felt comfortable. Lavender came to her side as a page brought a small crown over to her and she lifted it from the small pillow it was on. It looked like a miniature of the one that she, as the queen, was now wearing.

"With the placing of this crown and the blessing of the House of Gale, I now bestow you the seat of heir apparent and future queen," the small crown sat over DG's hair and Lavender stepped back to look over her daughter on the throne.

DG tried her best to look regal and put together enough to fit the part she was just given. Apparently it worked for the five hundred guests that had attended. The hall stood as they applauded and Lavender sat back in her seat next to Ahamo. He kissed the side of her head at the temple and smiled up at his daughter. DG waited until the clapping and cheering settled back down until she spoke up.

"Thank you for your support and your presence at this event. It means very much to this family and to me that you still support after such a long and trying time. Now at the end of the witch's reign I, along with my mother and sister, hope to rebuild the O.Z. and make it the shining land that it was always meant to be. With you and the people's help, we can rebuild what was destroyed and take back the land that is ours. Not mine and not the queen's, but every O.Z. citizen living now and any that will live after," she looked at specific faces in the crowd trying to gauge how she was doing so far. Many were smiling and some clapped through her speech, "But this isn't the only announcement that is to be made today. Will my father stand?"

Ahamo nodded and stood from his chair to stand next to the throne. DG then turned to Cain who was still sitting straight backed in his chair, "Wyatt Cain, please join us at the throne."

He got up quickly and stood on the other side of the throne from Ahamo. She smiled at him and then looked back at her father.

"As heir apparent, usually the young princess would be offered to be suited by the eligible men of the lands," Ahamo began and a few young men's eyes lit up from the crowd. He laughed a little to himself as he noticed them and then shook his head, "But this princess, I am proud to say, is already spoken for."

DG and Cain both smiled and also heard some disappointed mumbling from the crowd.

"Princess Dorothy Gale is engaged to a very honorable man. A man I trust will not only keep her safe, but keep her heart for all time. A man that has led her through danger and taught her ways of the O.Z. that was lost to her for so long," Ahamo turned to Cain and gently took one of DG's hands and placed it in Cain's, "Wyatt Cain, I give you my daughter's hand to marry and to keep for all time. In this placement I and the reigning queen also give you the position of prince-consort and future king-consort, lord of the lands. Do you take this all and become bound to your post from this day on?"

Cain took a deep breath to answer, but someone shouted before he could get a word out.

"Objection!" a voice carried from the back of the crowd.

"Objection to what?" DG hissed from her seat and Cain's eyes narrowed toward the voice.

"Objection to this courtship…" a young man around DG's age stepped from the crowd. He wore a nicely presented suit with a sash covered in medals and jewels. His dark hair was slicked back and his dark eyes shone up at DG and her father, completely ignoring Cain who stood beside them. If DG didn't know any better she would think that he was a prince. He cut through the crowd and stood before the stage, "…You were promised to me, princess."

"Bull-" DG started when she was interrupted by her mother.

"Lord Soren," the queen looked down at him as she stood from her chair, "We believed that you were dead."

"You were apparently mistaken, your majesties. I'm very much alive and ready to take my place at Princess Dorothy Gale's side as her betrothed."


	5. Chp 4: Surprise DG!

**Chapter IV**: Surprise, DG!

"At my side?" DG looked between her mother and the lord that ruined the moment. Why does something always ruin the moment?

Lavender turned to the hall filled with people and cleared her throat, "It seems as if there has been a misunderstanding. If you all would please help yourself to some food, it will be resolved shortly."

DG saw her mother wave a hand at the band toward the back as they began to play some slow music. Servants came out into the hall with finger food on plates for the guests as the hall began to rumble with hushed whispers. Glitch stood with Azkadellia and helped her off of the small stage and toward the hall to the Queen's study. DG stood close to Cain and looked worriedly between him and the young man in front of her. She may not have been raised from this side of the rainbow, but she knew what betrothal meant.

"Lord Soren," Lavender bowed her head toward the nobleman, "I see we have a few matters to discuss. Please."

The man watched Lavender's arm motion toward the hallway where Glitch and Azkadellia had disappeared, "As you wish your majesty."

Lavender followed closely behind him.

Ahamo stayed close to Cain and DG through the whole production and sighed loudly. DG looked up at him with a very scared expression and fear written in her eyes. Ahamo shifted to Cain and although the ex-Tin Man may deny it, he had fear written in his eyes as well.

"Come on, spitfire," Ahamo sighed, "This concerns both of you and the two of you need to be a part of the final decision."

"Great," DG lowered her head, but quickly caught herself so she wouldn't look so weak in front of the guests who were still watching her.

She and Cain walked behind her father and she caught Emily and Hank make a bee line for the study as well as Jeb and Kelly. Raw seemed to be lost in the crowd, but she hoped he could make it through. Once outside the study the whole group gathered around one another. Lavender and Ahamo went into the study first and closed the door behind them. Of course the royal couple had to discuss the circumstances over before everyone else is let in. Azkadellia was sitting in a chair next to Glitch and DG, holding her sister's hand. Emily was behind her adopted daughter making sure that her breathing slowed down and she stayed calm. Cain paced back and forth a few feet from DG and shooting glances to the young Lord on the opposite side of the doorway. He was probably trying to find a loop hole to the situation. Jeb and Kelly stood a little ways away knowing how bad the situation could explode if the Lord decided to open his mouth against Cain or DG. Hank stood with them, quietly discussing the ways that they could possibly get DG out of it. The only odd man out was the Lord Soren who stood on his own.

"Deeg, it's going to be okay," Azkadellia said softly to her younger sister who had her eyes glued to the huge doors leading to the study.

"How do you know, Az?" DG said hesitantly and then laughed a little to herself, "It seems like no matter what I do, fate always wants to stop my happy endings from coming true."

"You will have a happy ending, princess," Lord Soren spoke loudly and interrupted the quiet conversation, "It's just not with the peddler that you had in mind. You will be with a Lord instead."

"Careful what you say about Wyatt Cain," Kelly whispered while both Jeb and Hank nodded their heads. Kelly then saw not only red rise in DG's face, but Cain's as well. And beside that Cain had stopped his pacing and now had all his attention on the young Lord.

"I don't know who you think you are," DG started and stared sharply at Soren, "But I do believe that my sister and I were having a private discussion and we had no intention of inviting you into it."

"My apologies, your highness," he bowed his head, "I just thought that you would want to know that you would now be in capable hands."

"Who says that I am not already?" she growled and felt Emily move to the side behind her and Cain's arm wrapped around her waist. She quickly leaned back against him to send the message to the 'all mighty' Lord Soren.

"I would remind you, sir, that she is betrothed to me," Lord Soren stepped forward with a hand on the hilt of his sword, "Please unhand her."

As he went to take another step one sword, one foot and two revolvers were aimed at his throat. He looked around the small circle and sized up each would be opponent. Kelly had her short sword pointed at his adam's apple, Glitch had one of his legs slightly bent to attack at a moment's notice and it seemed that both Cain men were partial to their revolvers.

"And I would remind you, _sir_," DG started and looked down the barrel of Cain's revolver just to the side of her head, "That we all stick together and if you attack one of us, you attack all of us. Not a good thing to do since, as you have noticed, we all have our own skills. And I still have some mighty strong magic."

"So it might be a good idea to take your hand off of that sword or we can take it off for you," Cain nodded his head at the hand in question. Soren relaxed and took his hand off of the sword. Cain smirked and put his revolver back in his holster which was hidden by the sash of the uniform, "Good choice."

The rest of the group followed suit and put their weapons back in their hiding places and Glitch put his foot back down. It seemed as soon as Glitch's foot hit the floor the door opened and Lavender and Ahamo looked over the small group eyeing the lord.

"I do believe that we have to have a discussion," Lavender began, "Lord Soren, please come in and be seated."

"Thank you, your highness," he bowed his head at her, but kept his eyes locked with Cain's until he fully entered the study.

"You and Cain too, spitfire," Ahamo said to DG.

Cain looked back at Jeb and Kelly, "You two need to wait out here."

"Of course," Jeb nodded and relaxed a little against the far wall.

"What about Mom and Pop?" DG asked and nodded to her robot parents.

"We'll stay out here, DG," Emily said carefully, "This is something that we have no part in. Go on in."

DG didn't like it, but she nodded and she and Cain entered the room, careful to be on the other side of the room from the lord. Ahamo then turned to Azkadellia, "You can come in too, Azkadellia."

She shook her head, "No, this is something that is between you, DG and the Lord Soren. I will be with her, but I think it would be best if I stayed out here physically."

"We'll need you as advisor, Ambrose," Lavender turned to Glitch who looked down at Azkadellia unsure if he should leave her side.

"We'll be out here with her," Jeb offered and smiled at Glitch, "Don't worry."

"Thank you," Glitch nodded and stood next to the queen before he entered.

Lavender looked at the support system for her youngest child and closed the door to the study. As soon as it was shut and locked the rest of the group piled around it and placed one ear on the thick wood.

"Ouch, that's my foot, Jeb!" Kelly hissed.

"Sorry," he muttered and shifted to get a better listening space on the door.

On the other side of the door, the Lord had placed himself in the middle seat in front of the Queen's desk. DG huffed and pulled a chair away from beside him and sat down to the front left corner of her mother's desk with Cain behind her. Apparently he tried to sit between the two, but didn't understand the way they worked. Glitch took the other chair next to Lord Soren and stared at the side of his head as if to burn a whole in it. Lavender sat behind the desk as Ahamo took a seat on the other front corner of her desk.

"So we do have quite a situation here," Ahamo began and sighed deeply.

"Um, can we have an explanation of what it is, first?" DG asked.

"DG, this is Lord Soren of Winkie Country," Lavender waved her hand to Lord Soren who gave a small smirk, "He is Lord to the Eastern lands of that realm and… you were betrothed to him when you both were two annuals of age."

"That is correct," Lord Soren nodded his head and DG rolled her eyes. As if he needed to make sure her mother was correct.

"Well, you got here a little too late, buddy," DG grabbed a hold of Cain's hand that was resting on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, "I'm marrying Wyatt Cain. Betrothal or not."

"You don't have much of a choice here, Princess Dorothy," he shook his head and turned to the queen, "I believe you still have the bond oath that you and my parents both agreed upon?"

The queen nodded and brought out the paper with the gold lettering. DG lunged forward and grabbed the paper from her mother, "You're joking."

She ran her eyes over it a few times just as Cain had done from behind her. There in gold letters was her name beside Lord Soren's. Right below their two names the agreement read, 'Are to be wed once of age and in good standing within the kingdom of the O.Z.'

"I am only here to collect my princess so we may be wed as was promised between our two families," Lord Soren explained.

"I am no one's princess. As far as my heart it belongs to Wyatt. No one else," DG pointed out and threw the paper in the young lord's face.

"You have no standing to go against the bond that was agreed by our parents," the young Lord stood up and toward DG when he spotted Cain going for his revolver once again.

"I would back up from the princess, kid," Cain growled. DG smirked at the name. This wasn't the way he said it to her with affection. This was anger and annoyance at someone who was trying to act way beyond their years.

"And what are you going to do, you washed up Tin Man?" he spat back.

"Why you little-" DG felt her fingertips light up with the magic she had gained from Glinda on the last adventure. And she was ready to use it all on this guy.

"Actually she does," Glitch interrupted before a brawl broke out. All three of the would-be fighters turned to him as he sat calmly in his chair.

"What was that?" Soren asked and sat back down in his own chair.

"Princess DG does have standing to go against the pact made between her parents and yours," Glitch tried to explain slowly. When all he received were blank stares even from the royals behind the desk he began again, "When the pact was signed you both were only two annuals old. This bond was signed to ensure your future happiness, but it was made before you two even understood what it had meant. Usually that wouldn't be a problem between royalty, but this is a new case. When DG was six annuals old she had been killed."

"What are you talking about, she is right here," Soren jabbed a finger in DG's direction at which she frowned at.

"She was killed by the witch's dark magic and was revived by her mother," Glitch nodded respectfully at the queen and continued, "The bond is only effective when the two signed therein are both alive. I would consider this bond null and void since DG had died. She doesn't have to keep to the bond if she doesn't want to and if she doesn't see you fit. You are at the same standing as if you were another suitor."

"Way to go, Glitch," DG smiled at her friend, "No one could possibly have a better brother-in-law."

"I am not your regular suitor," he frowned, "And I want what was promised to me."

"Whining is not going to get you anywhere," DG smiled brightly and turned to her mother, "What's the verdict?"

Lavender looked at the paper in front of her and looked at the gold lettering, "Usually the lettering would fade if it is not effective and they are still shining. Ambrose is correct in his logic, as usual-"

DG watched Glitch smile proudly from the queen's praise and giggled beneath her hand.

"- maybe all that is missing is an exclamation of fitness of a suitor," her mother finished.

"What's that?" Cain asked.

"If Ambrose is correct, all DG has to do is refuse him as she would with any suitor," Ahamo looked at DG, "So say the word."

"I know who I want to spend the rest of my life with," DG started and looked at Soren, "And it's not you. You are not the future King-consort."

Lavender looked at the paper in front of her and the gold lettering immediately dried up and disappeared. She smiled at the action and looked up at DG, Cain, Glitch and finally at Lord Soren, "It seems that you have no more standing, young lord. My daughter has made her decision. I'm sorry."

"This is an outrage!" Soren stood from his chair, "My father and mother died during the reign of the witch. I am the last of my line and we deserve to have our bonds honored!"

"You must calm yourself, Lord Soren," Lavender ordered him and he immediately sat down. She held up the piece of paper which had no names printed on it at all, "As you see, the bond is broken. You are the one who no longer has any standing here."

"And I am curious," Glitch shifted slightly in his chair and looked at the young man in the eyes, "What took you so long to come back here for her?"

"I thought she was dead."

"And she was re-announced back to the kingdom months ago," Glitch reasoned, "Did you hear of her coronation perhaps?"

"That has no standing on my trip here for her," he frowned.

"It doesn't matter," Glitch stood up and walked over to Cain and patted him on the back, "Cain is a fine man and loves her very much. I agree with their majesties. She has chosen her future husband… and it is not you."

"I will not be out shined by an old Tin Man," Soren growled and turned his head to Cain.

"You will and you have. And just so you know, he is not old and he is the best Tin Man that I have ever known," DG stood from her chair and began to walk to the door, "I believe that this matter is closed."

"You will not desert me!" he grabbed her arm and was then promptly punched to the ground by Cain's fist.

"Hands off the princess," Cain said and pulled DG behind him and out the doors to the safety of the others in their group.

Lord Soren began to get up from the floor when Lavender spoke to him, "Lord Soren. Sit back down. Apparently, we have another matter to discuss."

Glitch walked to the doors and closed the four of them off from the rest of the group. DG watched the doors closed and knelt next to Azkadellia who was already smiling as she felt her sister's relief through their connection. Raw had joined the group while they were in the meeting and smiled at Cain and DG.

"What are you smiling about, fur ball?" Cain asked and shook his fist as if to shake away the pain from the direct hit to Soren's jaw.

"DG and Cain annoyed, but relieved," Raw smiled.

"What happened?" Kelly asked and looked back and forth between DG and Cain.

"The betrothal is null and void thanks to Az here," DG looked at her sister who tilted her head in question, "Well- actually it's the witch's doing, but hey, it's a good thing this time. So I thought I'd give my sister the credit."

"What did I- or she do?" Azkadellia asked cautiously.

"When she killed me when I was six, she was able to give me a choice now," DG smiled and tried not to bring back too many bad memories between her and Azkadellia, "I don't have to marry the jackass. I get a choice. And you have to thank your husband for me as well."

"I'm thinking the advisor found a loophole?" Emily asked while Hank was plastered to the doors trying to listen in on the conversation inside.

"Yup," DG nodded vigorously.

"Probably why mother wanted him in there with you two," Azkadellia smiled thinking of her husband's abilities.

"You must have said a few things because that lord in there is mighty angry," Hank commented from him position at the door.

"And it could have also been from Cain hitting him to the floor," DG laughed and looked at Cain who now had his arms folded in front of his chest.

"No one lays a hand on you like that and gets away with it," Cain commented and saw the smirk on DG's face, "What?"

"Remind me to reward you later for coming to my rescue," she winked at him.

Hank promptly stepped away from the door a moment before they opened once again, but this time with much more force. Lord Soren turned to DG and bowed stiffly to her.

"My apologies, your highness," he said sarcastically and stood straight up again, "I take my leave now. My blessings to you both."

"…Thanks," DG said hesitantly.

"You will need them," he hissed under his breath and then turned promptly down the hall and out one of the other doors, away from the other coronation guests.

"Glad that's over," Kelly frowned after the man.

Lavender, Ahamo and Glitch came out from the study. Lavender turned to DG and Cain, "Are you two okay?"

"We're much better now that's its taken care of, right?" DG asked him which he only gave a nod to answer.

"Well then I believe we have a ceremony to finish," Ahamo clapped his hands together and began to shoo everyone back down to the main hall.

DG walked next to her mother on the way back, "What did you say to him?"

"No one treats my child in such disrespect. Royalty or not," Lavender smiled down at her, "You do not need to worry about him, my angel. It is over and the bond is broken. Let's finish the other that was interrupted, shall we?"

"Let's," DG nodded as most of the group found their way back into the crowd and the band played the small introduction piece for the royal family.

Lavender stepped back up to the front of the stage as DG, Cain and Ahamo got back into place. The queen surveyed the crowd and found that everyone had stayed.

"I am so sorry and I apologize greatly for the delay," she bowed her head a little to the crowd, "It seems as if someone was over exaggerating a bond that was never to be. I believe that Mister Wyatt Cain had an answer for my husband."

She nodded to Ahamo and took her seat again. Ahamo turned to Cain and repeated the question, "Do you take this station and this post presented to you?"

"I do, sire," Cain nodded and noticed the huge smile that spread over DG's face, "With everything in my being, I do."

"Then here and now you are to be Prince-consort once you and Princess Dorothy are wed," Ahamo shook Cain's hand. He took DG's hand and placed it in Cain's once again then turned them both toward the crowd. Lavender stood back up next to DG while Ahamo stood on Cain's side.

"I here pronounce and introduce your future queen and king-consort," Lavender announced and the hall erupted in clapping and cheers.

Meanwhile, on the other side of one of the tall windows stood a lone figure on a horse, looking in on what should have been his.


	6. Chp 5: Royal Arrangements

**Chapter V**: Royal Arrangements

Two figures walked tough the semi-frozen gardens on Finaqua's palace. Both were bundled in heavy dress coats and boots under their dresses. Most of the flowers were frozen in mid-bloom, trapped until the sun could defrost them and renew them once more. The whole garden was covered in crystal flowers and iced ponds. The ice that had settled over the trees and flowers only gave DG the thought of Christmas and how she missed the holiday back in Kansas. According to her father and her robot parents there is still Christmas in the O.Z., but it takes place mid-winter which was still two months off. It still hadn't started to snow, but from the look of the clouds snowfall wasn't that far off.

"The gardens are especially nice this time of the annual despite the frost and weather," Azakdellia commented to DG as they walked through the gardens on the side of the palace.

"Hm," DG nodded and took a deep breath of the cold air. She was looking more at the frost that had clung the palace, making it look like it was made of beautiful crystal instead of the white walls of stone and plaster.

"Even the ponds are frozen over. In a week or so we'll be able to skate over them," Azkadellia smiled and then looked and her swelling belly, "Well, at least you and the others will."

"You'll be fine. The ice will be strong enough," DG looked over her shoulder at the few guards that were posted at different places around the garden to protect the two of them, "Glitch still in conference with mother?"

"All morning and through the afternoon."

"Hey don't knock it. He's getting me a day off from queen-to-be duties. Mother has stepped it up a notch," DG sighed, "I was wondering if I was ever going to get out of her study yesterday."

Azkadellia rolled her eyes, "To tell you honestly, I think he was happy to go. I haven't been the best partner of late."

"Mood swings kicking in?" DG laughed and watched Azakdellia rub a hand over her stomach and then frown back at the palace.

"Maybe just a little, not too bad. Sometimes the small things that he does get to me. Especially when he is trying to make a point and then he becomes more Ambrose like," Azkadellia looked at the sky, "Sometimes that man can be so infuriating."

"I know what you mean. Ambrose could be quite snarky at times."

Azkadellia giggled, totally erasing her frown to a large smile. That soon faded and she looked back at the beautiful flowers around her, "I'm excited and scared at the same time, Deeg. What kind of mother will I be?"

"A great one," DG grabbed her sister's arm and let her lean her head on her shoulder, "You don't need to worry. You not only got mother to help, but you have me as well."

"Oh, DG, didn't you know? That's why I'm so afraid," Azkadellia gave her a playful scared look and both girls laughed together.

"Very funny, Az," DG rolled her eyes, "For your information I will be a great aunt. I was known as one of the top rated babysitters in my community growing up. Everyone wanted me to watch their kids."

"Good for you. How could I ever underestimate you?" she giggled and looked back at the guards just as DG had done, "I am assuming your fiancé is in conference with father still?"

"They're planning their trip to the Northern Realms," DG nodded, "They'll be gone close to two weeks. And I'll be stuck here with you and mother going over colors and taffeta for the wedding. I'd much rather go with them."

"He needs the people to see him working outside and away from you," Azkadellia reasoned, "That way they will know that in the case of your absence he will lead the land well until you return. If you two are always together they may doubt his abilities."

"I know, but I still don't like the fact that I won't have a distraction from you and mother while he's gone."

"Two weeks is nothing, he will be back before you know it," Azkadellia assured her, "And then your wedding will take place and it will be smoother sailing from there on."

"Ha! You should know by now. It's never smooth sailing for me," DG sighed, "The Lord Jackass only proved that."

"That was quite a jolt to the whole living happily ever after," Azkadellia nodded, "But it is over."

"Thankfully. I don't think I could have dealt being married to him."

"How is Cain taking it? I've seen him brooding in the halls for the past couple of days," Azkadellia looked closely at the frozen fountain, "I thought that he'd be over something like that after a couple of days."

"He told me that if he ever sees the guy again he'll either throw him in a tin suit or shoot him," DG laughed, "And he said it with a smile which was a little disturbing."

Azkadellia laughed, "That sounds just about right for your Tin Man."

"Cain is quite blunt," DG nodded and pulled her sister into a small gazebo at the edge of one of the ponds, "But I think something else is bothering him."

"Like what?" Azkadellia sat on the small bench inside and watched DG carefully.

"I don't know if it is the whole trip to Northern Realms and not being able to protect me while he's gone or if it was the whole _Soren_ thing," she looked at the partially frozen pond, "He is just lost in his thoughts sometimes. He's been pretty good about telling me everything, but sometimes he doesn't want anything to settle on my shoulders. So he keeps it to himself and gets in his moods."

"Glitch had told me about his moods," Azkadellia nodded and then jumped a little with a light laugh, "My goodness."

"What?" DG asked and turned to her sister.

"The baby moved," Azkadellia smiled and waved DG over. She grabbed her sister's hand and put it over the lump, "You feel it?"

DG smiled and nodded at her sister who also had a smile on her face, "They're strong, Az. They'll be running around the palace like crazy."

Azkadellia laughed, "And get away with it too if they have their father's mind and their aunt's ability to get out of tight spaces."

"Don't forget their mother's smarts and pout," DG laughed as Azkadellia immediately pouted. She looked past Azkadellia and saw a guard jogging toward them, "What's this?"

"Excuse me, your majesties," the guard bowed his head, "Your mother is asking for Princess DG."

"Great," DG rolled her eyes, "So far for getting out of lessons today. Come on, Az. I'll walk you back to the palace."

"If it's okay, I'm going to stay out here for a little while and soak in the scenery," Azkadellia put a light hand on DG's arm, "Go ahead, I have enough guards to keep me safe. Besides, Glitch should be out shortly if mother is calling for you."

DG nodded and walked back into the palace and up the hall to her mother's study. She was more than likely going over more important documents. She saw Glitch head out to the gardens and smiled after him. He was probably going to check on her before he went off to do his other duties.

"Afternoon mother," DG greeted as she walked into the room, "How is the paper work going back here?"

"Good afternoon, my angel. I am just finishing up the policies and other paperwork for your next event. Glad that I got a hold of you. I thought that your sister would keep you out in the gardens all day," she smiled and motioned to a small table off the side of her desk where two chairs were facing one another.

"Oh no, the dreaded 'let's talk something over' table," DG sat down in one chair and watched her mother sit as well, "Okay, what's going on?"

"I wanted to explain about Lord Soren."

"Mother, you don't need to. He was only-"

"I also wanted to explain why your father and I did it," Lavender interrupted, "His parents and I knew each other when I was a young girl. When you were born around the same time as their son, we only thought that it would have been a fine match for the both of you."

"Until the witch and the resistance came into play," DG added.

Lavender nodded slowly, "Yes. Before then you two would play with one another once a month or so. It was a way for you and your sister to socialize as well as meet the other families of the realms. When you died his family went into hiding. Not well enough for his parents it seems, but he had survived. The witch's reign had changed him. He used to be such a nice young boy."

"People change," DG shrugged, "And some people change with or without an evil reign of a witch."

"There was no excuse for interrupting your coronation," she shook her head, "If he wanted to stay with you he should have come earlier. I am sorry for what he had done. That was supposed to be a joyous occasion for you."

"You don't need to apologize, mother. It's over. Besides, even if he came earlier my answer would still have been no. I still have Wyatt," DG paused for a moment and rolled something over in her mind, "If I never died when I was six- I mean, if the witch never killed me… would I have had to marry him?"

Lavender paused for a moment, "There's a possibility that you would have to, yes. We have a few laws that once linked with magic cannot be broken."

"Well, then it was a good thing to die young, huh?" she sighed and then tried to laugh it off. Lavender frowned and DG stopped laughing and looked away from her mother.

"He won't be asking after you again," Lavender assured her, "He knows that he will never receive my blessing for you two to be united in marriage."

DG nodded and laughed, "Yeah, I know. If Cain wasn't able to scare him off for good, I think you did."

"I do believe that you're right," the queen laughed with her daughter, "You're father even told me that he jumped from the anger radiating off of me."

"You don't miss with the Gales."

"I would have done everything in my power to stop the marriage from happening. You would have been unhappy, and I knew it."

"Why didn't you tell me about the arrangement to begin with?"

"I thought that he was dead," Lavender reasoned, "Killed like so many others. Like his parents. And if that was true, why bother you over it?"

"You were really close to his parents, weren't you?"

"His mother was my closest friend," Lavender smiled and looked at her hands, "Her name was Aniline. She had the best advice. So much so that she almost had Ambrose's position as my advisor. She turned it down of course. Her reasoning was that she didn't want us to see each other so much that we would begin to hate one another."

"Sounds like that wouldn't have happened."

"I think it was that she was already in love with her, at the time, soon to be husband. They were so much in love. She was the one to tell me to go after your father. A slider… some of my mother's advisors were against it, but my mother understood, thankfully," Lavender smiled at the fond memories, "Well, it is over. I just wish that they had a better legacy living on than Soren."

"Did they have any other children?"

"I don't know," Lavender shook her head, "Aniline and her husband were trying to become pregnant for a few months before you were killed by the witch. Seeing as Soren had said he is the last heir, I doubt that their dream of another child had come true."

"I'm sorry," DG put a hand over her mother's and tried to change subject, "So what other plans do you for me today?"

"Nothing else," she shook her head and then looked at the door where Azkadellia walked though with some paper in her hands.

"Nonsense, we have a wedding to plan!" Azkadellia smiled and dropped the papers and some splotches of material over the small table.

"I thought you were going to wait for your husband in the gardens," DG looked at her sister.

"We saw one another on his way to marksmen practice with Cain and father," she smiled and spread out the materials, "Now, back on topic here. What should we start with first? The colors or the wedding dress?"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the palace grounds, Glitch has just joined Cain and Ahamo in some of the training grounds. It was their day to come together and, as DG would say, man bond. Cain was going to go over some shooting practice and Glitch wanted to see where all three of them stood on hand to hand combat. Ahamo took off his jacket and vest as he looked over his shoulder at the up coming advisor.

"Ah, Glitch," he smiled and noticed Glitch's face light up at the mention of his name instead of the ever popular advisor or Ambrose, "How is Azkadellia?"

"She went in the palace to talk with DG and her majesty about the wedding plans," Glitch shrugged off his own jacket and laid it on one of the fence posts nearby, "She seemed to be really excited."

"I bet DG was excited about that too," Cain chuckled as he rounded the corner with three hand pistols and plenty of ammo, "She's dreading doing a majority of the planning with her mother and Azkadellia. She thinks it will be a… how did she put it? A 'girly overload'."

"Are you going to help any?" Ahamo grabbed his firearm and ammo from Cain.

"I've told her some of the things I would like in the ceremony," Cain nodded and handed another firearm to Glitch, "She told me that she and I can sit down after the trip and put the final decisions to rest then."

"Sounds like DG," Ahamo nodded and looked down the barrel of his gun.

All three men put the revolvers on their holsters with some extra ammo and then settled in the middle of a dirt circle. They looked at one another and then Glitch smiled.

"Okay, who wants to dance with me first?" he settled into a ready stance and looked at both of the men.

"I don't see why I don't take a shot at it," Ahamo copied Glitch's stance and Cain walked to the side to watch.

Glitch began with a high kick which Ahamo ducked and threw a punch toward his side. Glitch leaned back, barely able to dodge the fist, "Very good, your highness."

"Thank you," he nodded his head, "But please don't hold back for me. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Glitch nodded and swooped his foot under both of the king's legs and knocked him to the ground with a foot over his throat.

"Nice move, Glitch," Cain said from the side and walked into the circle. Glitch helped Ahamo up and then turned his attention to Cain.

"Are you ready for a dance?" Glitch asked and swayed from side to side before Cain.

"I'll admit that you're not bad at dancing at all, Twinkle toes," Cain started and feigned a punch to the right. Glitch dodged it and Cain's foot came up to intercept his ribs. Glitch, now off his balance, fell to the ground and looked up at Cain, "But you still have a lot to learn about fighting with some dishonorable men. They're not all going to follow the conduct of a gentleman's fight. Remember that."

"But that's why I got you, Cain," Glitch laughed to himself and looked up at him, "Well, you going to help me up?"

"I could," Cain held down his hand and pulled the advisor out of the dirt. He then looked over at Ahamo who was laughing lightly at the display.

"I didn't think anyone would take the best fighter down," he chuckled as Glitch rubbed the back of his head.

"I just know some of his weak points is all," Cain offered. He paused and looked back at the palace.

Ahamo and Glitch looked at one another and then Ahamo looked back at Cain, "Something on your mind?"

"I was just trying to think," Cain paused again and turned to Ahamo, "I never knew that the princesses were arranged as far as marriages were concerned."

"We tried to keep it as quiet as we could," Ahamo nodded, "We had an understanding with the families that we were close to. Their sons had to be gentle enough to be husbands and fathers, but tough enough to possibly take on a kingdom someday. In DG's case, the parents were close friends of her mother and I. She played with the boy when they were both toddlers and they got along really well. We never thought that he would grow to be such a disengaging man."

"Not to mention dishonorable and whiny," Glitch scoffed and titled his head to the targets at the side of the fence. The other two men nodded and followed him over to the targets. Cain already had his loaded and waited for the other two to follow.

Glitch paused for a thought, "What about Azkadellia's match?"

"What was that?" Ahamo looked up.

"My Azkadee," Glitch said, "You said that you had an understanding with families. I assumed that you meant one for each daughter."

"You assumed correctly," Ahamo nodded and looked at the palace and then back to loading his firearm, "Her intended never came for her."

"Never came?" Glitch asked.

"At first we thought he was dead just like Soren," Ahamo explained, "But then we found out that after DG had saved the kingdom he married quickly after to keep himself from being bound to Azkadellia, even if she was freed from the witch's grasp. I believe that he didn't want to be linked to the known sorceress."

"Wasn't that impossible according to the magic bond within the agreement?" Cain asked.

"Yes," Ahamo nodded, "Or it should have been."

"Then how did he marry another?" Cain asked and saw Glitch thinking deeply, "Got any ideas zipper-head?"

"Only that she had usurped the throne and by that action voided the agreement between their majesties and the other family," Glitch offered, "By becoming the new ruler she had voided her majesty's signature on the bond. Her own would have to be on there for it to still be valid. DG's stayed gold because she never was the ruler- she had no say to change a magic bonded agreement. The gold letters more than likely have faded on Azkadellia's. Have you two looked?"

Ahamo thought to himself, "When we found out that he had married another, we didn't think of looking for it. And to top that off most of the documents from Azkadellia's past have been burned or destroyed in another fashion."

"So he just left her to fend for herself?" Glitch asked with a frown. He heard Cain's hammer click back and turned to see the Tin Man aim for the target on the opposite side of the line.

"Good riddance, then," he pulled the trigger and the bullet landed right in the middle of the paper target's head.


	7. Chp 6: Letters Home

**Chapter VI**: Letters Home

"Is father all packed yet?" DG asked as she put another clean shirt over the other two already in a large bag. Her hand gently passed over the cotton like material and the simple buttons down the front. She sat at the end of the bed and looked at the bag as if it was reason that Cain was going away for two weeks. On the other hand, if she were the bag she wouldn't be stuck in the palace with her mother and sister asking her about the wedding at every corner.

Cain walked out from their bathroom with a small towel in his hand, "He says that he should be ready by sun down. Better to leave when no one expects us to and we won't get tied up with others heading North on the first leg of the trip."

DG sighed and buttoned up the bag before he took it from her. He set the two bags they had packed by the door and then joined her on the bed. He took both of her hands in his and kissed her knuckles softly.

"Everything is going to be okay," he said in a whisper, "I'm only going to help and then I'll be right back. We'll get married and then have many little ones running all over the place. They'll keep Jeb busy while you begin your reign with me right there beside you."

She smiled and leaned toward him a little as he nuzzled her cheek with his nose, "What makes you think that he won't be busy with ones of his own? I've seen the ring and talked with Kelly. They wanted to announce it as soon as you came back, but the ring on her hand kind of ruined that surprise."

"Yeah, Jeb told me while we were taking a walk during your lessons the other day."

DG suddenly turned serious and looked Cain in the eyes which made him lean back a little in surprise. Then she laughed to herself for making him worried, "Remember, I don't want more than three. I've always wanted at least two though. Maybe twins- a boy and a girl. According the Azkadellia we're going to have a girl regardless, so…"

He chuckled and laid back into the bed, pulling her with him. He held her close and looked at the ceiling from the bed, "Whatever you say, kiddo."

They both stayed quiet in one another's arms until she knew his time to go was slipping closer and closer. She lightly traced her finger over his buttons on his vest and holster like she had done with the shirt in the bag and then took a deep breath. He tilted his head to look down on her when she immediately sat up and looked down at him.

"What is it?" he asked cautiously, "And before you ask again- No, you still can't come with me and your father, even though I want you to. You need to stay here with your mother."

"No, it's not that," she smiled and put both hands behind her neck to take off the silver locket that she wore from the Other Side. She held the locket above his face and grinned at him, "I want you to take it with you."

"You're locket?" he took it from her and examined it in his hand. She nodded and rested her chin on his shoulder as she laid back down beside him, "You've had this with you since you were a little girl…"

"You don't need to wear it if you don't want to," she said as he flipped it over and over in his hand, his eyes focused on the trinket, "I just want you to keep it with you. It would make me feel better. It will make me believe that you are safe and have my heart with you always."

"I will be safe," he nodded and kissed the top of her head before sliding the small locket into his pocket and buttoned the pocket back up, "No problem, kiddo. I'll keep it with me."

She signed in contentment and closed her eyes. Her ear was planted to his chest and she unknowingly breathed in rhythm with his heart. She savored the quiet moments with him. They didn't have many with everything that was going on around them. Be it another ceremony or another class, they were always running around and only got to see one another before they fell asleep or passing in the halls. They used to have loads of time to do things together when they were out in the wilds of the O.Z., even if they were on a tight schedule to stop a witch… both times. And to think, months ago when she first met him, she would have never guessed that he could be this affectionate toward anyone- much less the kid that was following him around the O.Z. to find a way back to her parents.

"Why does the second sun have to set so fast?" she opened her eyes and looked over his chest to the window where the first sun had already gone behind the hills surrounding the palace. She then buried her face into his shoulder and felt him hug her closer to him, "I don't want you to leave."

"It will be fine, DG. It's going to be in and out," he turned his head and watched the last sun hesitantly, "I'll be back home in no time. I promise."

Less than an hour later the two walked out of their room and down the long hall to the main foyer of the palace. Ahamo and Lavender were already there, saying their goodbyes as well. DG watched respectfully as her mother gave her husband another kiss and whispered something in his ear. He grinned down at her and hugged her tightly before stepping away. The older couple turned to the other two as they made their way forward. Ahamo and Cain shared a nod of the head in a small greeting.

"Is Az and Glitch going to say goodbye?" DG looked to the side and no sooner had she asked then Azkadellia and Glitch round the corner followed by Raw.

"Of course," Azkadellia smiled and walked up to Cain to give him a hug as well as she could with her swelling belly, "Be safe on your trip, Cain. I expect you back here safe and sound and ready to walk down that aisle with my sister in hand. No getting caught by witches or falling asleep in poppy gas and getting carried away."

"I wouldn't plan on it, princess," Cain grinned as Azkadellia turned to her father and gave him a tighter hug. As he hugged her around her shoulders, Cain turned his attention to Glitch.

"You keep your eyes on his majesty and I'll take care of the girls. Agreed?" Glitch held out a hand and Cain gripped it hard in a shake.

"Agreed," Cain nodded, "Watch out for DG. I think she may make a run for it and she's not the best at being watched over."

"I heard that," DG hit him in his side.

"Alright, Spitfire, do I get a goodbye too?" Ahamo asked and opened his arms for her. She laughed and hugged him. Be it still a little awkward to show affection with her new family, but with her memories slowly coming back and the time she spends with them it was starting to come easier to her.

"Goodbye, 'Seeker'," she smiled with a laugh and stepped back, "Have a good trip and be careful."

"No worries, no one will know it's me until we get to the settlement. And if anyone does manage to recognize me I have my own personal Tin Man with me," he smiled and nodded his head at Cain, "And even better it's the one that's usually protecting you. How much trouble could I get into?"

"After protecting her, I doubt there isn't any trouble that we can't handle," Cain commented which earned another hit in the side from DG. As soon as she stepped away he swung her back in for another hug and kept an arm around her waist until they got outside to the horses.

He got on the back of yet another white horse and DG stood with Azkadellia hand in hand to his side. Raw stayed silent and away from the others until Cain had mounted his horse and stood next to the two princesses.

"You're not saying anything, furball?" Cain asked down to Raw.

"Not need say much," Raw explained, "Raw feel everything. Safe journey ahead."

Cain laughed as he heard DG breathe a sigh of relief, "You put her mind to rest."

"DG want safe," Raw put a hand on the horse's flank and looked up at Cain, "Cain be careful and return well."

"I plan on it."

"Isn't Jeb going to come by and say goodbye too?" DG asked and looked at some of the royal guard saddling up, "I thought I would have seen him by now."

"He's going to meet us at the first town. His platoon already left for their training and for some negotiations with the Eastern Guild. He and his men said that they would be helping us when we reach our first stop," Cain looked at the road ahead of them, "Kelly should be with them too. That should be ample time for me to get to know my new, soon to be daughter-in-law."

"Another bonding adventure?" she asked with a smirk.

"Just maybe," he chuckled, "Stay out of trouble, kiddo."

"Wouldn't want you galloping back here on your white steed, would I?" she smiled sadly and watched him trot his horse up to her father. Her mother settled beside her and all three women watched the horses vanish in the near distance.

* * *

Four days had passed and DG still had heard nothing from Cain or their party. During that time she had been on auto pilot through the palace, and actually welcomed some of the lessons from her mother and Tutor. She would sit quietly and tried to distract herself with anything else other than Cain's departure with her father. Emily and Hank helped to distract her while she was out of class too. Azkadellia had tried to help, but sometimes would make it worse if she was in one of moods. Raw would sit and talk with her as he was a good listener and explained to her that she worried too much for Cain and that he would be back soon. She would only give him a small smile and then go off to distract herself with her drawings.

She and Azkadellia was walking through the gardens with Glitch trailing behind them. He had some free time and wanted to stay close to Azkadellia. The baby was kicking and he wanted to be there when it happened. He felt as if he had missed enough while advising to the queen.

"How slow are the messengers?" DG asked as she passed by a very well known pond in the gardens.

"Give it some time, DG," Azkadellia grinned and patted her sister's hand which was looped through her arm, "They are almost on the other side of the O.Z. from us. It will take some time to reach back here."

DG sighed and looked toward the entrance to the palace where messages were received, "I just hate not knowing is all. He's been gone before and taken care of himself, but I-"

She paused and saw a horse coming toward the front of the palace with a small bag for letters. Her feet stopped moving for a moment and she watched carefully to make sure that he was going to stop and drop something off.

"DG, what stopped you?" Azkadellia asked not having caught view of the messenger yet.

"Letter carrier," DG whispered and promptly turned around and headed toward the palace. She nearly ran Glitch over as she ran past him and into the side door. Azkadellia stood in her place and waited for Glitch to regain his balance and come over to her.

Glitch brushed off some of the dirt from his uniform and stood beside Azkadellia, taking her hand for her balance, "What was that all about? I haven't seen her run that fast since-"

"Before Cain left," Azkadellia smirked and laughed lightly, "She said something about a letter carrier. She may have seen one coming up to the palace."

"Ah," he nodded and then felt Azkadellia jumped a little, "Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?"

"The baby's just moved," she took his other hand and laid it over her stomach. She watched closely as his face turned from awe to ultimate happiness.

"That's amazing," he laughed. Azkadellia smiled with him. This was one thing that he had never known of. For once she was able to show him something he would never know from reading books.

Meanwhile, DG ran straight for the front foyer toward the letter carrier. She turned the corner and ran right into the young man with the bag. They both crashed to the floor and DG sat up with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry," DG shook her head and got up to help the young man off of the floor. He looked to be around seventeen and completely terrified that he had just knocked the heir to the kingdom to the ground. In all actuality, she was the one that knocked him down.

"I'm so sorry, your highness! I didn't mean to get in your way! I- I was just-" he stammered. DG held up a hand to stop him.

"Don't worry yourself about it," she shook her head, "I said I'm sorry first and I mean it. Now, what news do you have for us?"

"One letter from the Seeker to the queen…" DG smiled and rolled her eyes at her father, "And one from a Wyatt Cain to you."

"I'll take them," she smiled brightly and took them both from the young boy, "Thank you."

"Your welcome, your highness," he stood there with his hands at his sides.

"You may go if you like," she smiled.

"I am to wait here until you and her majesty finish responses," he explained.

"Ah," she nodded, "Okay, but you don't need to stand like that. Go down the hall to the right and make yourself comfortable in the sitting room. I doubt that my mother and I will be finished for a little while."

"Yes your highness," he nodded to her and wondered wide eyed at the inside of Finaqua on his way to the sitting room. DG guessed that it was his first time.

"Mother," she knocked on the study's doors and came in to find her mother at her harp. Emily was tidying up the study as she used to do back in Kansas all over the small farmhouse. She loved to listen to classical music while she worked. More than likely Lavender's harp playing was just like classical music was on the other side.

"DG, you look happier today," she smiled and then looked at what was in her daughter's hand, "No wonder. Correspondence from Mister Cain?"

"And father," she nodded and handed the letter to her mother, "The carrier is in the sitting room once you're done writing back to him. I'm going to go read mine and write back as well."

"Alright, my angel," she nodded, "But don't keep the carrier waiting too long."

DG nodded and ran back to her room where she closed the door and ran to her small desk to read the letter and write one of her own.

_Hey there princess,_

_I hope you're behaving for Glitch and the others at the palace. And I mean your best behavior. Now that I've said that, I wanted to say that yes, I do miss you. Especially out here in the middle of the forests._

_Your father and I are doing fine. We reached the first town and as I write to you we are finishing up the last of the work. Jeb was here before we were and began the process without us. We should be leaving in a day or so. Probably around the same time you'll be reading this. He and Kelly are doing great. They say hello and send their love._

_We have two more stops to make then it's a straight shot home. Jeb will ride with us half way to the next town then head for the Guild Fighters in Munchkinland._

_It won't be much time now, sweetheart. I hope you have most of the wedding plans knocked out. I'll be going over them with you as soon as I get home. I love you._

_Your Tin Man,_

_Wyatt_

She smiled to herself and hugged the note tight to her chest, "Now to write back."

She quickly pulled out her quill and parchment, wrote a couple of small paragraphs down and looked them over. Her head tilted to the side she finally nodded and sealed the letter with some blue wax. She quickly walked back down the hall to the messenger still in the sitting room. She handed him the letter and looked the young man in the eyes.

"This goes only into Wyatt Cain's hands. Do you understand?" she asked.

He nodded and tucked it into his bag. It looked like he already had a letter from her mother. The queen seemed to read and write fast. Something that probably would do her a world of good to learn.

"Good trails," she nodded to the messenger and sent the young man on his way.

She watched him ride out into the maze and caught another group coming in. She suddenly got a strong feeling in her gut and made sure that the messenger had made it out until she concentrated on the small group again. From the look of the group it was a dignitary for her mother.

"DG," Glitch showed up directly beside her.

She put a hand over her heart and took a deep breath, "Damn it, Glitch! You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry, Doll," he apologized and threw a glance over his shoulder back at Azkadellia, "I think it may be a good idea for you and Azkadee to lock yourself in your room."

"Why? Who are they?" DG asked and felt a little magic jump to her fingertips as a defense measure.

Glitch turned to her in full Ambrose mode, "Please, just do what I ask, your highness. Tell your mother that someone has raised the colors."

"Okay," she nodded and slowly backed away from the front foyer. She took Azkadellia's hand and went straight into her mother's study, "Mother."

Lavender looked up and her face fell immediately at seeing her two daughter's expressions, "What is wrong?"

"Glitch told me that someone has raised the colors," she explained with a frown. The queen immediately stood and looked at Emily who was still in the study, "I will be with my daughters. Send for Raw the viewer to meet with us."

"Yes, your majesty," Emily nodded and walked toward DG. She put a comforting hand on DG's shoulder before leaving the room to tell Glitch the message and to find Raw.

"What's going on?" DG asked as her mother push at both her and Azkadellia's backs.

"Someone is outside…" the queen began and looked sadly down at her daughters, "and they want to start a battle."


	8. Chp 7: Over the OZ

**A/N:** Hey there, thanks for hanging on for me guys. I've been heck of busy here in Florida. So, for your patience I have a double update. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter VII**: Over the O.Z.

"Start a battle?" DG asked as she and Azkadellia were pushed into her own room, followed closely by her mother, "You mean here in Finaqua?"

"Yes, my angel," Lavender nodded.

"Against who?"

"Against us- against the royal family," Azkadellia explained and looked toward the windows probably worried for her husband, "The resistance used this measure against the witch many times during the dark time."

"They either want me to do something for them, or they want something physical. And if they have to use force to convince me to do so, I doubt that I will do either," Lavender frowned.

"What about Raw? What do you need him up here for?"

"He will be my link to communicate to them," she turned to the door, "Usually we would be able to do it just fine, but we need the central room, and we are barricading ourselves in here."

Raw peeked in the door and closed it behind him. Just because everyone seemed to be on guard, DG used her powers to lock the door and solidify it so no one else could enter.

"Majesty call for Raw?" Raw asked with a small nod toward the queen and a smile at DG.

"Raw, I must ask for use of your viewer powers," Lavender asked and he nodded as he shifted to the large mirror to the side of DG's bed.

He touched the screen and looked at the queen, "What you wish to see?"

"I wish to see who plans to attack us," she said with her hands folded in front of her and she stood tall before it, "Those who have raised their colors."

DG and Azkadellia stood right beside their mother as the mirror fogged and then lifted for a clear vision of the group of soldiers and the man leading them. The group was larger than DG had originally thought. It looked more like a small army and could only think this is what the Longcoat forces must have looked like when they came down on Finaqua while she was on her search for the Ages. The mirror tightened on the man in front and DG gasped.

"That's Lord Soren!" she snarled and narrowed her eyes, "What is he doing back here?"

"Apparently he wasn't happy with your and mother's decision, dear sister," Azkadellia offered and took DG's hand from behind to help to comfort her, "You have to give him persistence."

Lavender took a deep breath and looked through the mirror, "Raw would you be so kind as to open a link with him? I wish to speak to the young lord."

"Link where, majesty?" he asked.

"There is a large silver shield toward the front of the palace. It should suffice for this," she mentioned and he nodded. DG and Azkadellia knew of the large shield. It was put toward the front of Finaqua to mark the downfall of the witch and to honor those who fought and lost their lives in the resistance. She was fond of it and knew that it would stay for many years to come, much like the old road had.

"Lord Soren," Lavender boomed from the link, "What do you hope to accomplish by raising your colors against the House of Gale?"

The lord looked at the shield and smirked at the queen's reflection, "Why do you think, your majesty? You and your daughter have taken something from me; I am only here to take it back. Take what is mine is all I want to accomplish."

"What you seek is not yours," she took a deep breath, "Turn around and return to your lands. You will not win this battle while my daughters and I are here."

"That is why I am taking Princess Dorothy with me," he laughed, "Where is my future bride? Is she hiding in the palace from me? Hiding in there with you?"

"You're future bride is no where to be found here," DG said and stepped up to the link, "And who ever that girl is, I pray very hard for her. I will never marry you. Take the hint and go back home."

"Not very good with negotiation skills, are you, princess?" he laughed again and shifted on his horse, "Nothing will deter me from taking what is mine. If I have to battle to get it, then I will."

"This palace has survived many battles and many wars," Lavender continued as she pushed DG gently toward Azkadellia, "Do not let your men die for an empty cause. You have your answer, now take your leave."

"Not very likely, your highness," he shouted to the shield.

"Very well," Lavender nodded, "But I am much more lenient than my advisor to those who threaten the throne."

Lord Soren turned his attention to Glitch who stood on the stairs leading into the foyer with the royal guard lining in front and around him. Glitch stood strong and tall when against opposition and it surprised DG. She was so used to her easy going friend that when battle came to the front, she never really saw him fight.

"So she sends her advisor to lead the royal guard? Where is DG's intended? The so called future King?" Lord Soren taunted.

"As if you didn't know already, he is on a mission to rebuild a part of the O.Z.," Glitch lowered his head and glared at the man. This is where DG was sure that Ambrose took over. He was no longer happy go lucky and he certainly wasn't smiling. He unsheathed a small sword that was on his hip and pointed the tip in Soren's direction, "Wyatt Cain will be pleased to carry out your sentence of death as it is the penalty for an attack on this palace. And I will be right there watching."

"Wyatt Cain will not be alive that much longer, so I doubt that," Lord Soren smirked up at the advisor, "And if you get in my way, neither will you."

DG heard the conversation through the link and rushed to see what was happening. Raw quickly took his hand away. The link was beginning to burn him and his hand. He shrank back and started to shake a little.

"What did he mean?!" DG asked and looked back at Azkadellia and her mother, "What did he mean by that about Wyatt?"

"I don't know," Azkadellia shook her head.

"Raw, please bring it back up," DG asked and Raw shook his head.

"Can't touch. Burns to read through much hate… arrogance," Raw frowned and held his hand that he had touched the mirror with, "Sorry DG."

DG ran to the nearest window and tried to watch as the first line of Soren's men ran forward toward the awaiting royal guard.

* * *

Cain and Ahamo were on the road again. They had left the first settlement a day prior and were on to the next one. Jeb had already separated from their party a few miles back with his platoon and Kelly. It was a nice way for Cain to know more about Kelly and how she became so entrapped in the resistance. He got her background about her and her family. By the end of the first day he was patting Jeb on the back and congratulating him for not losing her.

Cain looked around him and Ahamo and thought that they looked infinitely smaller without Jeb and his troops. It was just the two of them with five royal guards in casual clothing.

"We do seem like a rag-tag team, don't we?" Ahamo asked with a smile over to Cain.

"Just a bit," he nodded and then looked at the road ahead, "Do you think we'll reach the next town by sundowns?"

"I doubt it. We'll camp on the side of the road in a few minutes. The ground is starting to level out," Ahamo looked at the road and then ahead of them, "I was a bit weary of this next settlement."

"Why's that?"

"In the very beginning we were sure that the town was abandoned, but then we heard of people flowing into it. They weren't in favor of the queen allowing Azkadellia to step back in as princess and didn't want any help from us," Ahamo took a pause and thought for a moment, "And then just out of nowhere a few days before we left they agreed. It's on our way to the third settlement so we agreed to help them."

"The roads seem familiar to me," Cain looked around, "We're near the old road aren't we?"

Ahamo nodded, "About half a mile off."

"Hm," Cain grunted to himself. From what Ahamo had just said and how he knew the road didn't set well with Cain either.

"Seeker!" one of the end guards shouted up, "Horseman approaching."

Both Cain and Ahamo turned on their horses to the small boy on horseback. Cain recognized him as the young boy he sent off with the letters for DG and the queen.

Ahamo turned his horse around, "Let him come to us. He is friend, not foe."

"I have answers for you," he handed the two men the letters and then leaned toward Cain with his, "She told me that this was to land only in yours hands, Mister Cain."

"Did she?" he could feel the edge of his mouth tilt up in a small smile, but pushed it back to keep his appearance up in front of the guard and the young man. He could see Ahamo smile and laugh into his hand from the corner of his eye.

"Yes sir," the boy nodded, "Just before the dignitaries showed up."

"The dignitaries?" Ahamo asked and looked at him.

"I assumed that's what they were, sire," the boy looked at the other man, "There was a small group when I left and the advisor Ambrose was heading to greet them."

"Were there any meetings that were scheduled while we are gone?" Cain asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Ahamo shook his head, "But then again a lot of these families drop by to talk an issue with Lavender without contacting her first."

"How big was this group?" Cain asked the messenger.

"I saw ten men enter as I left through the maze."

"That's too small to be any uprising," Cain thought out loud.

"I doubt it's anything too big. But I do think this would be a good place to camp for the night. We will enter their settlement in the morning," Ahamo announced and turned back to the boy, "Go ahead and get something to eat and rest."

"Thank you, sire."

The group unpacked and tied their horses as they made camp. Two hours later the small, makeshift camp was set and ready a few dozen feet from the road. Men were gathered around the campfire telling stories of the resistance or rumors that have gathered around the palace about certain maids, or they discussed other rumors that were started by the maids in question. As soon as the smaller tents were all up Cain settled into his and Ahamo's to open DG's letter.

"Couldn't wait to read yours either huh?" Ahamo sat down on his cot next to Cain's in the tent.

"It's been a while since we've been apart for any length of time," Cain nodded and looked at her handwriting first. He ran his finger along the curls and dips in her letters and noticed that she was writing a little faster than normal. Probably didn't want to keep the messenger waiting.

"So what does my lovely second born have to say? If you don't mind me asking."

"Just saying that she's keeping out of trouble, the wedding plans are almost done and that it is boring as hell- her words not mine," Cain laughed loudly along with Ahamo, "And-"

"And?"

"And some things that are probably better kept between two people," Cain could feel the tops of his ears burning and was glad he was still wearing his fedora. No wonder she wanted the messenger to deliver it to him. Only DG would write 'improper' things in a letter that crossed the span of the O.Z.

"No need to say more," Ahamo nodded and tucked his own letter into a small breast pocket, "I agree whole heartedly. Lavender was telling me that DG had been feeling low since we had left, but seemed much happier with a letter from you. You may be far apart, but you still brighten her day."

"And she brightens mine," Cain folded his letter and decided to read the rest of the letter later, under low lantern light.

"Cain," Ahamo gained the man's attention. Cain looked up and noticed the amused smile on Ahamo's face. Ahamo pointed to his own chest and then nodded toward him, "Your, um, locket's open."

Cain looked down and sure enough, DG's silver lock hung out from underneath his shirt and had opened. He shook his head and took hold of it.

"DG?" Ahamo guessed.

"DG," he nodded.

"It better have been. If it was another lady's locket around your neck, I may have been pretty upset," Ahamo laughed and leaned back on his cot.

Cain opened the locket and instead of finding DG's picture right next to a picture of her robot parents, he found the picture of DG right next to a picture of him. He wondered when she had done it, but gave the locket a small smile. She was always with him.

"Seeker! Cain!" a few of the guards yelled from the fire.

Cain grabbed his duster and threw it on over his holster as Ahamo ran right after him, a pistol in his hand. Outside the tent the men stood at attention and looked down the road toward the settlement. Lights were moving down from the settlement and toward their camp.

"What do you make of it, sir?" one of the guards turned to Cain. He shook his head a little and then looked at Ahamo.

Ahamo watched and noticed that the light wasn't trying to conceal itself and that it was only a few people, "Maybe the town people wanted to make sure that it was us and not marauders?"

"This feels more off than that," Cain shook his head and then spun around, pulling out his revolver on a few dozen men on horses just to the front of them, "Who are you?"

"Who do you think, Tin Man?" a voice carried from the back. A horse came forward and stopped in front of Cain. The man on the horse had something pretty big draped over the back of his horse and covered with a large blanket, "Remember me?"

"Soren," Cain growled, "What do you want?"

"Only him," he pointed behind Cain to Ahamo, "I have a favor to ask you, your majesty."

"What ever it is I doubt that I will want to do it," Ahamo walked next to Cain, his hand gripped at the handle of his pistol.

"I didn't say that you'd want to do it, what I said is that I have a favor to ask of you. And it better be a positive response," Soren moved the blanket to the side and revealed a sleeping DG, knocked out cold, "Otherwise certain people may be… injured."

"DG!" Cain took a step forward when Soren took out a large knife with a black blade and tilted it toward DG's throat.

"I wouldn't act too fast there, Cain," Soren looked at Ahamo, "I'm waiting for you to join us, sire. I believe that it would be in DG's best interest."

Cain heard the people carrying the light file into the camp. He shifted his eyes briefly toward them and noticed that they were all in the same uniform as Soren and his riders. They were all his men. No wonder the town had agreed. They were all under the order of one man whose goal was to capture them all.

"You set us up," Cain narrowed his eyes.

"I needed to have audience with the King-consort seeing as his wife was a bit too disagreeable," Soren explained.

"What did you do to Lavender?" Ahamo asked as fear sparked through him.

"She and the others are fine. The advisor has a little scratch or two, but I had to get the princess to come out of her barricaded room one way or another," Soren explained, "Really without magic your forces are so feeble at the palace. My men over took the front gates and swarmed the palace with little to no trouble at all. The queen and the princesses have all the power and they were sealed in one room. I heard DG yelling to go and fight, but was probably unable to leave her sister and mother. Ambrose fought admirably, but he really can't stand up to twenty soldiers at once. DG gave herself over without much of a fight if we promised that her friend was left unharmed."

"Dammit, DG," Cain cursed and looked at the unconscious DG on the back of the horse.

"I'll go," Ahamo nodded, "Leave DG here with Cain and I will go with you."

"You don't understand, do you, my lord?" Soren began to laugh and a butt of a gun came down behind Ahamo's head, knocking him out, "Get him on the horse."

"Ahamo!" Cain ran forward again and was shot easily in the right side by one of Soren's men standing by.

"I told you it wouldn't be so good to try something, Tin Man," Soren turned and looked over his shoulder, "Kill the guards. Leave Cain. I want him to explain to the queen how he lost her daughter and husband in the matter of a few days. Either that or bleed out."

"NO!" Cain yelled as he heard the guards behind him scream from gun wounds or stabbing. He stared hard at DG and tried to will her awake for her to run. To get far enough away from him and what he had planned for her and her father.

"Take a good long look at her, Wyatt Cain," Soren sneered, "It's the last time that you're going to see her. Say goodbye and goodnight."

Another butt of a weapon landed in the back of his head and he toppled to the ground. The only thing that he tried to hang on to was the vision of DG's face smiling at him before he left. And even that faded to black as he heard the horse's hoof beats die away.


	9. Chp 8: Wake Up

**A/N:** Here's that second half I promised. Hope to hear from you guys soon. Enjoy! And as always, thanks for the reviews. They brighten my day.

**Chapter VIII**: Wake Up

Glitch limped through the hallways of the palace, still healing from a severely broken leg. Raw had healed it half way, but told him that it would take a few different healing sessions for it to be completely back to normal. Until then he would have a limp and be careful not to over do it on the one leg. Raw has tried to tell him to completely stay off of it, but the advisor had work to do.

He had just checked in on Lavender who had tired herself out from worry once again. Her worries about DG and Ahamo were overwhelming her and distracting her from anything else she had planned. She had lost them both for fifteen annuals, and this time she may lose them forever. Now, she was back in bed again and in a deep sleep. Emily and Hank were tending to her needs and kept a close watch on her health.

He rounded the far corner of the hallway and went down the stairs into the medical wing of the palace. Royal guards filled many of the beds with healers over each one of them, saving those they could from the battle. Glitch peeked through an open door toward the middle of the hall and saw Raw on the far side of the room trying to put together some kind of herbal remedy. He kept putting the tubes he was using up to the light coming through the curtains in the room and then he added another leaf or liquid to the mix in a bowl off to the side. In a way he kind of reminded Glitch of himself when he worked in his lab.

Glitch turned his head to the left where Azkadellia was sitting comfortably in a chair holding a new, cold cloth in her hand. She gently placed it over the forehead of the patient in the bed in front of her. He smiled and came up behind her, gently rubbing her sore shoulders. She sighed and leaned back toward him.

"How's mother doing?" Azkadellia let out a deep breath and looked up at her husband.

"Still in total distraught. Her husband and youngest daughter have been kidnapped to who knows where. She wouldn't even get out of bed this morning. She just fell back to sleep from tossing and turning for the past hour," Glitch said quietly and looked over the patient in the bed, "So how's our Tin Man?"

Azkadellia looked down at the face of her sister's fiancé with a heavy sigh, "He still hasn't awoken. It's been a dozen hours since we found him. The hit to the head must have been a heavy one."

Cain's face held an expression as if he was fighting. For all they knew he still was. The young boy who had delivered their letters had hid when Soren and his soldiers had attacked the small group on the road. The boy dragged Cain from the road and hid him behind some bushes after bandaging him the best he could. After he made sure that no one was going to disturb the injured Cain, he rode his horse hard back to the palace. They set out a rescue party and found Cain covered mostly by a large bush. The boy had saved Cain's life.

"Cain need rest," Raw came over to the other side of the bed with a small bowl in his hands for Cain, "Fever down. Won't get worse, only better now."

"How did the bullet wound heal?" Glitch asked and looked pointedly at the white bandage that was around Cain's torso.

"Leave scar, but no more injury," Raw grunted and tried to lift Cain's head enough to drain the remedy down his throat.

Then without even a hint of doing so, Cain launched himself into a sitting position and knocked Raw back, effectively breaking the bowl and made a new need to make more remedy.

"Ahamo! DG!" Cain yelled into the room and looked around his immediate area.

"Cain, calm down," Glitch put both hands out to settle the man down, "You're back at Finaqua. You need to take it easy. You were injured pretty badly."

"I don-" Cain started but then grabbed his side. The adrenaline had run down and he started to feel the pain settle in. He lowered himself back into the bed and the soft pillows behind him.

"Cain rest," Raw sighed and put the broken bowl to the side table, "Bullet out, but soreness remains. Must rest before you walk."

"How did I get here?" Cain looked at Glitch and Azkadellia.

"The messenger rode back here after the attack. He said that it was his thanks to DG for treating him as a person," Azkadellia began, "What was left of the royal guard rode out to retrieve you and the bodies of the guards who accompanied you."

"Strange enough you were only a matter of yards from the town that we stumbled upon our last journey," Glitch added and Cain understood why the road seemed so familiar, "They must have seen the abandoned town as a great opportunity to ambush you."

"Who survived?" Cain asked.

"You and the messenger were the only two who made it back alive," Azkadellia said sadly, "The other guards were executed by Soren's men."

Cain cursed to himself, "And Ahamo? Did you find him?"

"It seems as his majesty was taken with DG," Glitch added, "He has them both, Cain."

Cain closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the news. For a moment or two Glitch could see the Tin Man fighting with himself on whether or not to scream in frustration. Honor and service was life to Cain right under being with DG and his son. He had promised to take care of Ahamo and he had failed when Ahamo needed him the most. Knowing the way Cain thought and processed the situations, Glitch was sure that he was going to beat himself up about it. And after he starts on a cycle like that only DG could bring him out of it.

"I'm going to get them," Cain said in a rough voice.

"What?" Azkadellia looked down at him.

"I'm going to go get DG and Ahamo," he grunted and lifted himself higher on the pillows, "I'm going to get my fiancée and her father and bring them home. Right after I return the favor and give that guy a hole in his body- right in an area where no healer could help him."

"You're in no condition to fight," Azkadellia frowned and looked at the injured man, "He'll kill you before you even reach her."

"Raw?" Cain turned his head to his viewer friend who was trying to make the same remedy that was spilled all over the ground.

Raw sighed and turned to Cain and Azkadellia, "Cain leave in two days. Enough rest to heal."

"Then I'm going in one and a half," Cain sat completely straight up in bed, "I am not giving that guy a chance to do anything with either one of them. Especially DG."

"Then Raw go with you. Tin Man too stubborn to stay. Raw heal on road," Raw said and handed him the bowl, "Drink. It help muscles."

Cain quickly downed the remedy and then handed the bowl back, "That tastes like DG's health bars from the other side."

Glitch scrunched on his face and sneered at the remedy, "Like her granola bars?"

"Worse," Cain stuck out his tongue in an effort to get the taste away from his tongue.

"Well, I suppose if you and Raw are going, I should go too," Glitch smiled and looked at Cain and Raw, "I can't leave DG and his majesty to Lord Soren. He could kill either one of them. And besides that, I want to see him when you get to him, Cain."

"What about the queen and Az?" Cain asked him, "Do we leave them unprotected?"

"We will be fine," Azkadellia smiled softly and put a hand over one of Glitch's that was still on her shoulder, "Mother and I have shared magic before. We can strengthen the bond once again. We have plenty of royal guards and healers here. If we have to resort to magic we will."

"How did he get through the guard here?" Cain asked.

"He used trickery," Azkadellia frowned, "He kept most of the royal guard in the front where he was. Then a legion of his forces went unnoticed around the back side of the grounds. The rules of raising colors are simple. If you wish to attack against the royal palace, then you attack in a straight line at the front. Soren and his troops instead slipped into the hallways and made it to DG's door. He ignored the rules of battle engagement and as such, we weren't even prepared to use our magic."

"I felt something off and ran toward the royal chambers and got myself caught," Glitch kicked himself mentally, "He pushed the rest of the guard back using me as a human shield. He then told DG to give herself up if she wanted me to survive. At first she didn't submit and I was happy for it. Then the… he broke my leg and that was the last straw for DG. She bolted through the door and right into his arms. She tried to use the Ages, but he sliced her arm with a black blade. I believe it has some magic abilities."

"Why's that?"

"Her magic stopped glowing and she fainted," Glitch finished, "And just like that they were gone."

"Down the road to pick up Ahamo," Cain took a deep breath and Glitch almost caught the growl rumbling deep in his chest, "We need to get packed."

"And where do you hope to go?" Azkadellia asked, "We don't know where in Winkie Country Soren is. Mother knows where his parent's castle was, but for that specific reason, he won't use it. So with his people backing him he could hide anywhere in that country."

"Is there anyway that you could possibly track DG through your magic?" Cain asked.

"Usually I could and I tried as soon as he took off with her," Azkadellia looked out the far window, "But I think that blade took most if not all her magic. I can't even connect to her on the most basic levels. If she was awake she could start to rebuild them, but I don't know how long that blade will keep her asleep. I only pray that it is not an eternal sleep."

There was an uneasy silence that surrounded the small group. Glitch took a deep sigh and looked at Azkadellia, "I think we should let him rest. That was a lot of information for him to handle in one setting. We'll be back later tonight, Cain. I'll bring you some dinner."

"Take care of her, zipper-head," Cain looked at Glitch and then focused his eyes where Azkadellia had a hand over her swollen stomach, "Both of them."

"Don't worry, Cain," Azkadellia put a hand over one of his, "We'll bring her back home."

"I know," he nodded. Glitch and Azkadellia walked from the room and toward their room. They had much to discuss and Glitch had to get ready for the rescue ahead.

"Sleep good for Cain," Raw came up and put a hand on Cain's shoulder, "Remedy help. Will heal again once awake."

"I can't sleep," Cain shook his head, "It was bad enough on the road without her. Now to know that some man has her… and could be doing anything-"

"DG strong," Raw reminded Cain, "DG fight. He not touch her heart like Cain. No one ever like Cain."

Cain stared up at the ceiling and swallowed hard. Raw sighed and put a hand on Cain's forehead, "Try sleep, Cain. Big journey ahead."

This time blackness didn't cover his vision. Cain closed his eyes and saw DG right in front of him. She was smiling at him and holding her sketch book in her lap. She turned her head to the side and yelled out to someone in the long grass at the edge of Finaqua's shores. Cain's eyes followed where she was looking and saw two pairs of bright blue eyes peer out from the grass. That was soon followed by a patch of blonde and then black hair. Two children were playing in the waters and DG laughed at their antics.

This would have been one of the many dreams that kept him going through the days at the palace. The long, repetitive days with lessons and meetings and royal etiquette. To know that one day it would be him and DG living the rest of their lives together. But now, he had wished that the blackness would come back and cover the scene in front of him. Because it was this dream he was losing every moment that Soren had DG….

…And it was breaking his heart all over again. As if he was back in that iron maiden and unable to turn away.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Eastern lands of Winkie Country, DG was laying in a bed tucked to the side of a small room. She felt herself coming back to consciousness and the stinging sensation in her arm from the blade Soren was carrying. She groaned and pulled the arm toward her, cradling it against her chest. She could feel a bandage was around it, but it didn't help the pain any. It felt like a cut and once she had her head back together she would try to heal it herself and then blow a hole in the wall and out of whatever place she's been thrown in.

She opened her eyes and looked around the small room. It was a simple room, much like her room was back in Kansas. The bed took up the most space in the area and a small dresser was next to the large door. A very large door with what she suspected was an even larger lock. She frowned and placed her feet on the ground to feel if she could support herself. Whatever that blade was laced with did a job on her and she didn't want to hit the floor hard and knock herself out again. She put pressure on both feet and was able to stand, even if she was a bit unstable. She walked to the window- the barred window- and tried to find any landmarks she knew of.

'No such luck for DG,' she thought sarcastically to herself.

Outside the window was a vast desert and she couldn't see anything for miles. The room she was in must be at the border of the desert because she still smelt the pine trees and some kind of flowers from nearby. She leaned back and then haphazardly jumped on the window seal to look straight down the side. She must have been at least on the eighth floor. Down below in the sand was what looked like bodies laid out in different positions. She would have thought to help them if it wasn't for the fact that they looked like they were made of sand. She thought to herself for a moment and back to Tutor's lessons of the geography of the O.Z.

"Mother said he and his family are from Winkie Country," she closed her eyes and tried to picture the map in front of her, "The Eastern realms of Winkie Country are all bordered by… oh crap."

She opened her eyes and looked out the window again, sitting on the window seal in semi-defeat, "Well, there goes the idea of blasting a hole through the wall and making a run for it. I doubt I'd want to take the chance of walking through the Deadly Desert- chosen heir to the throne or not. I don't think that this portion of the O.Z. is all that picky on who gets turned into a sandy sculpture."

She sighed and tilted her head to the side to check if she was clear headed yet. Her vision didn't swirl or spin so she shrugged and took her left hand and placed it over her right arm where the bandage covered the cut to her arm.

"Damn bastard," she cursed Soren. A small spark came from her fingertips and covered the cut and bandage. Her magic was weak and at the best she could probably speed the healing process, but the cut was going to stay for a little while. She sighed and pulled her hand away, "That will have to do for now."

The door looked like it was heavy duty, even if it was only made out of wood. If she had her power over the elements working than she could burn it down in no time with some fire. But that would also lead to the problem of everything else catching on fire and not enough time to get out. There was the idea of just blowing a hole anywhere in the room, but that still had the problem of her powers not being back up and running once again. She blew some of her bangs away from her face. The only window didn't have much of a view or room to escape and the door was a no go. She couldn't do her impressive blasting abilities either.

She quickly sat on the floor and closed her eyes to concentrate. With what little magic she did have at the time she would have to focus hard to reach her sister or mother through their magic connection. Hopefully they were open to receive her.

'Az… come on, Az,' she thought in her mind and tried to reach out for her, 'Pick up. Pick me up and answer me…'

Her eyebrows knitted together and her mind ran straight into a blank wall. She was almost thrown back by the force of it, but stayed sitting upright on the floor. She grabbed a small pillow from the nearby bed and screamed into it from frustration. It would take more time to build up her magic to make a full call to Azkadellia. Something that she was probably running very low on.

"Getting aggravated, princess?" a voice called from her doorway and she glared over the pillow to her captor.

"You're blocking my powers," she frowned, "How?"

"I have a little magic of my own," he smiled and patted the blade at his hip, "I needed to level the playing field a little more to my advantage. I don't have any magic to battle against yours in a fair fight, so I took yours away. At least most of it."

"Ah, so I'm dealing with a coward," she smirked up at him.

"Not so much a coward as much as a planner," he frowned. Apparently DG hit a nerve. But the victory only lasted a moment or two. He smiled down at her again and she went on the defense and got off the floor, "I've got a visitor for you."

"Cain?" DG's heart raced. If he had Cain he wasn't going to keep him alive for long.

"Guess again," Soren reached to the side of the door and pulled Ahamo into view.

"Father," DG gasped and Ahamo raced forward and wrapped DG in a hug.

He pulled her back and looked her over, "Are you okay?"

"Just a cut on the arm," she lifted her right arm a little, "You?"

"A good bump on the noggin," he shifted his eyes to look straight up.

"Where's Cain?" she asked and his eyes dropped to the floor, "Father… where's Wyatt?"

"I don't know, they knocked me out," Ahamo looked back at Soren and two of his guards.

"Where is he?" DG asked.

"I am not sure, princess," he said slowly and sighed, "The last I saw of Wyatt Cain, he was laying on the ground with a bullet in his side… calling out your name."


	10. Chp 9: Final Decision

**Chapter IX**: Final Decision

DG still heard the laughter from Soren and his men hours after they had left from her small room. It echoed in her mind as much as the picture of Cain dying flashed in front of her blinking eyes. Soren and his men had left her father next to her, thankfully. It was bad enough that she was worried to death about Cain; she didn't need to worry what they were doing with her father as well. She sat on the windowsill and looked back at her father who was still pacing the floor, more than likely still trying to figure a way for them to get out. One look out the window and he agreed that they were on the border of the Deadly Desert. A breakout attempt out the window would result in their death.

He seemed to pace more furiously as time passed. Something burned at the back of his mind, reminding him of something that he didn't want her to know. Something that had to do with Soren and the position she now found herself in concerning the young lord. She didn't know how much longer she was knocked out than her father. In that time, Soren could have given him an ultimatum and the way that Ahamo was pacing, that's probably just what happened. She got some of her stubbornness from him and she knew that once he had made up any decision that had to do with family, he wasn't going to budge on it. Whatever the alternative was, it didn't look good.

She looked back out the window and wished that she had some living dust like her greatest grandmother had her adventures. Pour some of that stuff on a couch, find something for wings and they would be in business. They would fly right back to get Cain and then to the palace to figure out their next move. No waiting in a tower for the royal guard to come and get her.

"How are your powers doing, DG?" Ahamo paused in his pacing, "Any change?"

"They're still low, but they're building higher than what they were when I woke up," DG looked at her fingertips and showed Ahamo that they were beginning to glow once again, "I think the cut from that 'magic' blade is going to stop me from doing the harder spells. So forget the Ages. I'll be lucky if I could even spin my doll with what they are now."

"Do you think you have enough to contact your sister?" Ahamo walked to her and sat on the other side of the large window.

"I don't know," DG took a deep breath, "The last time I tried I hit a blank wall that almost threw me to the floor."

"Try again," he nodded, "If we could get a message to them, then you could get out of here."

DG paused and looked at her father, "Me? You mean us."

"DG, you are the future of the realms-"

"And you are my father," she frowned, "I don't like what you are inferring here."

Ahamo looked out the window and then back at her, "I don't have much more time, spitfire… You do have your mother's spirit, you know? And I am proud of both you and your sister. So proud."

"This sounds like a goodbye," she said nervously and smiled hesitantly at her father, "But that can't be right. You still have to walk me down the aisle. Wyatt is waiting for both of us. He's going to bust through that door and get both of us out of here any time now."

"Soren is going to be back," Ahamo watched the last of the light from second sun disappear from the sky, "And when he does, my time is up. He still doesn't have the answer he wants and he never will."

"What did he want you to do?" DG pulled both of her father's hands into her own, "And if it means your life, you better agree to it. I will not allow anyone I love to die for me."

"That's a curse that you must live with as a queen, DG," Ahamo brought one of his hands from hers and cupped the side of her face, "People die for you constantly. I do this proudly. I will never allow what he wants to reach you. As a father, and as a man that loves you dearly, I cannot."

"Father…"

"How touching," Soren stood in the doorway and looked at both father and daughter on the window, "I'm guessing that you have made your final decision, my lord."

"I have and the answer hasn't changed. I will never give you what you want. I have given it to a man that deserves it," Ahamo stood tall and walked away from DG, who jerked him back for a moment because of her hands still clutching one of his. He looked back and pulled his hand from her, "Let me go, DG."

DG shook her head, "I just started to know you again."

"Unfortunately, princess," Soren rushed forward and plunged the blade into Ahamo's gut, "Some of us never get a second chance to get to know our parents. We lose them before we get the opportunity."

He quickly pulled the blade from the king-consort and watched the older man collapse to the floor.

"No!" DG ran from her position and to her father. She turned him over and into her lap. She kept his eyes trained on her face and kept him still, "No, no… Come on Seeker. You're strong. You've been through worse. You can beat this easy."

"It was an easy decision, my lord," Soren looked down at the bleeding man and at the princess holding him, "All you had to do is give me your blessing to marry your daughter. A signature was all I required."

"And a lifetime of misery for my daughter," Ahamo groaned and felt the copper taste of blood enter his mouth, "I would never allow that. Even when faced with death."

"I see that," Soren looked at them both and the tears starting to form in DG's eyes. He turned quickly to the doorway and nodded to his guards, "Let them alone for a time. The man earns at least that little of respect."

DG heard the lock settle into place and focused on her father. She put one of her hands over his wound and tried to heal it. The gold colored magic sparkled on her fingers, but soon died as it didn't affect the wound.

"No!" DG screamed and hugged herself around her father's head, "Why isn't it working?!"

"DG, it's okay. I saw this coming…"

"It's not okay," DG heard the unleashed sob in the back of her throat, "Mother shouldn't lose you twice. Neither should your daughters. We barely now the man you are now. You should have signed the damn paper."

"That would have been signing your death," Ahamo coughed and more blood stained the ground and DG's dress, "I will always protect you and your sister and mother. You three are the world to me. I'd do anything…"

"But you're the Seeker… Ahamo," DG felt he tears running freely down her face now, "How will this world be without them in it?"

"It will go on just swimmingly without me, DG," he cupped her face with one of his hands again, "It's got you now and you'll keep it going."

"How will I tell mother?"

"Tell her, that I will always love her. Just as I had the moment I saw her," Ahamo's breathing started to become ragged and DG held his other hand tightly, "I will see her again down the road. And tell your sister how much she is loved by all of us, and by her proud father."

"Father, please," DG shook her head, "I love you."

"I love you too, DG," he closed his eyes as if to blink, but didn't open them again.

"Ahamo!" she shook his shoulders and then looked at the ceiling and screamed, "FATHER!"

She collapsed over the body as it grew cold. She felt the memories of her childhood come to the forefront of her mind. Days where he had sat her and Azkadellia down to teach them art or days that he would take them in his hot air balloon over the O.Z. came in crystal clear. This man was never a stranger to her. He was always her father.

'_Try again.'_

DG opened her eyes and looked down at her father's face. He was peaceful and still, but that was his voice.

'_Try again… get out of here.'_

DG took a deep breath and called to her light inside. She concentrated on her sister with everything she had and called to her. Her ear burned and she grabbed at the small ear cuff that she still had on. The warmth coming from the family seal on the cuff was just enough to give her support to see through the spell. She couldn't use her powers to heal him, but she would do what he last asked of her. She would get out of this prison and get back to her family.

* * *

Azkadellia stood next to Glitch as he loaded the last of his things into a saddle bag in the front foyer. Cain and Raw stood across from them, their packs already to go. It had been over a day and as Cain had promised, he was leaving to find DG and Ahamo. Jeb and Kelly had come back to the palace after hearing of the ambush and had agreed to stay to watch over the queen and Azkadellia as the trio left to fetch DG and Ahamo. As much as Kelly tried to argue with Cain to make him stay and heal properly, Jeb knew there was no way to convince his father otherwise. Lavender stood behind Azkadellia for support as she said her good luck to Glitch.

"Have a swift journey and I pray that you find her quickly," Azkadellia hugged Glitch tightly around the neck and he buried his face into the side of her neck.

"I will, my love," he said steadily. He leaned back only to kiss her fiercely as a promise that he would be back to see the birth of their child. There was no doubt that he along with Cain and Raw would find her. There were no other men that loved her more in all of the O.Z.

"I have given you directions to Soren's old castle home," Lavender spoke to Cain, "I only hope that will help."

"It's a place to start," Cain nodded and turned to Glitch who now had his forehead connected to Azkadellia's, "Are you ready to go, Glitch?"

"As much as I am ever going to be," he nodded and began to turn from Azkadellia when her legs nearly buckled from beneath her. He caught her under her arms and slowly lowered her to the floor. She sat on her knees and closed her eyes tightly, "Az, what's wrong?"

"DG," she whispered and took a deep breath to seal the connection with her sister, "It's DG. She's trying to contact me."

"Can she get through?" Jeb asked as his father moved next to Glitch.

"She said she doesn't have much magic at her disposal. She's weak and can't call the Ages to her," Azkadellia put a hand to her chest and shook her head, "Something has happened. Such sorrow…"

"Azkadellia, let your sister speak," Lavender sat next to her eldest daughter and put a light hand on her shoulder. She gave over the little magic she had and helped DG talk through Azkadellia. Her eyes finally opened, except this time it was DG's blue eyes shining through and not Azkadellia's.

"Mother?" DG asked through a strained voice, "I got through?"

"DG, my angel, where are you? Are you okay?" Lavender took hold of Azkadellia's hands as if they were DG's.

"I'm in a castle at the edge of the Deadly Desert," DG choked and shook her head, "I don't have all my powers. I'm useless."

"DG, where is your father?" Lavender put a hand on the cheek to gain her daughter's attention, "Is he there with you?"

"Soren… Soren took him," DG choked again and shook her head, "I couldn't stop it. It happened so fast."

"Took him where?" Cain asked and scooted forward in front of Glitch.

"Cain!" her face lit up only a second before she was in his arms, "I thought that… he said you were injured… Shot with a bullet in your side. And you were calling for me. I thought that he had killed you."

Although he knew it was Azkadellia's body in his arms, he knew that the one that was really there behind her eyes was DG. He rubbed her back and combed his hand through her hair, "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm okay. I'm coming to get you. You and your father."

"You can't get him," DG mumbled into his collar, "Soren…"

"What happened?" he asked gently and kissed the top of her head, "Tell me what's going on."

"He was stabbed by the same blade that Soren cut me with because he wouldn't agree to give his blessing to Soren," DG said slowly and shook her head as she broke down, "I couldn't save him. My powers aren't back. I couldn't heal him. The bastard killed him! And it's my fault!"

"DG," Lavender turned her face to her and cupped it gently in both hands. Through the connection DG saw her mother's eyes filled with tears, but with a gentle smile on her face, "You did everything that you could. I need you to tell us where to find you."

"All I see is desert," she closed her eyes and blinked a few times. Lavender could see the link starting to break between her daughters as the eye color shifted from blue to brown and back, "I smell pine and a flower blossom. I don't know what kind. They're sweet, like Honeysuckle."

"The Blossoms of the Sun," Glitch thought out loud, "It has to be. They're the only sweet flower that blooms that close to the desert and the forests. There are too few places that they grow."

"I'm so sorry mother," DG started to break down more and felt the connection slipping from her.

"Concentrate, DG!" she said sternly, "He didn't die for nothing. Help us find you. Tell us anything you hear, anything else you know."

"He said he still loved you just as he had the moment he saw you," DG said with a small smile, "And he told me to let Az know she's loved by all of us. Especially by her proud father."

"Tell me how to find you," Cain said from above her head. She shifted her head from her mother and looked up at Cain, "Please, DG."

"You always have a knack of doing that with or without my help. You always find me," DG smiled with a sob escaping from her throat, "I can't hold on much longer. My magic is low and growing lower. I can't do much."

"DG, please," Cain felt her lean back from his embrace. She sat on her knees and looked into his eyes.

"I love you and always will. No matter what happens," she said quickly, "I'm going to use the rest of my power to send something to you all. Even though I can't send myself."

"DG!" Cain yelled and reached for her when she closed her eyes.

A blast of magic surrounded Azkadellia's body and a form began to appear in her lap. First a head and then the body followed. Both her hands were placed gently on either side of his head and his hands folded neatly on his chest. The blast of magic died down and Azkadellia opened her eyes slowly.

"Oh daddy," she said sadly and let her own tears for him fall down her face, "We just got you back."

"My love," Lavender sat next to her daughter and looked over her husband. She gently took him from Azkadellia's grasp and held him closely to herself. She closed her eyes and put a palm over the stab wound in his lower stomach. Everyone knew that she was trying in her own way to heal him, but after a moment she stopped and began to sob over him. She screamed into the hall loudly, alerting the closest royal guards who then called to the medic and examiners.

Azkadellia hugged her around her shoulders and cried with her. Glitch knelt near Azkadellia if she wanted his comfort as well, but for now he knew that the two women needed one another. Cain and Raw sat stunned a foot or two away from the others. Raw shook his head and lowered it in respect. Jeb held Kelly against his chest to shield her eyes from the scene even though they both knew she had seen worse. Cain only shook his head and ground his teeth together.

As Ahamo's hands shifted a small trinket fell from them. Cain picked up the piece of silver and noticed that it was DG's ear cuff, "Why would she send this back with him?"

Azkadellia looked up and quickly examined the ear cuff and then the marble floor they were sitting on, "It was a way to send him back."

"How?" he asked.

"It was a link," Azkadellia nodded to the marble floor which also had the family seal imprinted upon it, "By connecting the two symbols by her magic, she was able to transport him here. She used the cuff you gave her to send him home."

Cain palmed the trinket, quickly stood and looked out the front doors of the palace.

"Cain," Glitch looked up at him before he took his first step, "First we find that castle on paper."

Cain nodded and looked at the still body of Ahamo, "He was the best man I had ever known. And that bastard will pay for killing him."

With that Cain turned down the hall and to the map room. The others stayed with Ahamo's body. He would mourn the man in his own way. He would tear through countless maps and letters to find that castle and rescue DG. He would bring his daughter back home. And he would kill the man that had torn his new family apart.

* * *

DG laid on her floor, drained of magic and of emotions. She knew there would be questions on why she didn't send herself instead of her father. She wasn't able to, even if she tried. It would be too much power to send them both and she wouldn't leave him behind.

She knew that there would be a proper ceremony in a few days to say goodbye and she wouldn't be there. Her mother and sister would say a few words and say their goodbyes, but she would still be under lock and key in Soren's castle. Better that the King-consort is buried where he deserves and not in a dirt pile somewhere in Winkie Country.

She knew that Cain would beat himself up about her father's death, but he would still come for her. And most of all she knew that it was her fault that one more person was dead. Her father was dead because she was the next queen. If that was what the crown meant… she was badly mistaken and misinformed when she took her oath to take it.

She sobbed on the floor, holding herself and trying to stay warm as her magic tried to regain some power. She felt her father's once warm blood soak into her dress and dry. The only clean area that was found on her body were the streaks of tears falling down her face and to the floor.


	11. Chp 10: Plotting Course

**Chapter X**: Plotting Course

There was no ceremony for the King-consort of the O.Z., or even word of his death to the citizens of the O.Z. The advisors, including Glitch, believed that it was better that everything was kept quiet. The last thing they needed was the people thinking that the monarchy was slowly being killed off. Lavender had her husband taken to the central room where she and Azkadellia had used their powers to encase him in crystal. Nothing could reach him to mar his body or his memory. He would be taken to the Gale mausoleum when they retrieve DG and bring her home. Then there would be a ceremony and a proper burial for him. He deserved to have his whole family with him on the first step of his final journey.

For six hours, Cain and Glitch poured over the maps of castles and overlapping them with the growth periods of the Blossom of the Sun. Raw stood near by to help them heal from their wounds, but would leave quite often to stay away from Cain who wouldn't calm down. The viewer would spend more time with Hank and Emily as they tried their best to calm Lavender and Azkadellia.

Cain ran a hand through his hair for the hundredth time that night and looked at Glitch who had just singled out two different castles that would fall within DG's description.

"What's the verdict, Glitch?" Cain asked.

Glitch sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Two castles. One was in ruin the last I heard and was at the South Eastern corner of Winkie Country. It borders the Southern forests and what used to be one of the largest fields of the blossom. The other is at least two days ride North of the first one along the border of the Deadly Desert. It's a strong fortress and is rumored to have a large field of the blossom next to its gates and a large forest guarding one side."

"We don't know for sure about the flowers?" Cain asked and looked at the map and at the two castles in question.

"No, Cain, we don't," Glitch rubbed at his eyes.

"If we go to the one in the South we could lose valuable time in reaching her if she is in the north and he could move her when we are making our way to the second castle," Cain went over the options, "But if we go straight to the Northern castle, we would have to back track and waste precious time if she is in the Southern castle."

"There's not much to do but to check one and then head to the next one if we're wrong," Glitch sighed, "DG will survive this. She's survived being buried in a marble coffin, being thrown off a balcony… she's survived dying. She's going to be there when we find her."

"But in what condition?" Cain growled and stood up, "I should have never left her."

"It's not your fault. You wouldn't have guessed that the coward would have raised colors against the palace when you and Ahamo were gone."

"She needs me and I'm not there," he kept fuming and began to pace, "I let her father get captured and later killed. Now she blames herself when she should blame me. I can't get-"

Suddenly Cain found himself on the ground with a throbbing cheek. He looked up at Glitch who was standing over him, breathing deeply and nursing his hand he had just used.

"Don't you dare," Glitch shook his head.

"Don't I dare what?" Cain rubbed his cheek and pierced into the advisor's eyes.

"Blame yourself. I've heard enough of that around this palace," Glitch shook his head and took a deep breath, "DG will need you when we find her. She will need you strong and will need you to be her rock. Just like you need her to be yours. I will not allow you to fall into your pity cycle and to close up on yourself. When you do that you push everyone else out and make some sacrificial choices. I won't let you do that… you're my friend, Cain. And DG deserves to have her future husband in one piece."

Cain took a deep breath and then watched as Glitch offered his hand down to him, "And if you're ready to stop that nonsense you were spouting just a moment ago and go fetch your bride, I'll help you up."

Cain shook his head and grinned up at his friend while taking hold of his hand, "Thanks, Glitch."

"What are friends for?" Glitch asked and heaved the Tin Man off of the floor.

Cain looked over the castles again and looked at Glitch, "Why didn't she teleport herself back?"

"She didn't have enough power to start with," Glitch mentioned, "And think of yourself in DG's place and her way of thinking. She probably wasn't even sure if she would be able to send us Ahamo. And if she did have enough power for one person, she wouldn't leave her father behind even under direct order from her mother."

Cain pinched the ridge of his nose and took a deep breath, "She's too damn stubborn with too big of a heart."

"Probably why you love her so much," Glitch smiled.

"It's exactly why I love her so much as infuriating as it could be sometimes," Cain nodded and concentrated on the castle in the South. He focused and felt himself drawn to the small drawing of the castle. Something told him to look deeper, to find something that was hidden, "You said this one is in disrepair?"

"Last I heard of it," Glitch nodded, "Castle of Balance it was called back in its hay days. Walls are now falling and people who had worked on it fell into the desert. They shut the project down right before the witch took Azkadellia. No reason to keep working on a castle that may be part of a dying land."

"What if someone started on it again? They had fifteen years to do it under the cover of the witch's rule. I'm guessing that the witch never really kept other castles under watch when she had her tower and the emerald to worry about. I have a strong feeling that we need to head there first."

"You see something I don't Cain?" Glitch asked.

"Cain feel DG," Raw came in through the door happy that the hate radiating off of Cain had died down, "Connected deeply. DG want Cain to find her. Doesn't know she's giving magic to him to find her."

"Then we'll follow your feelings, Cain. You'll lead the way," Glitch nodded.

"I just hope I'm right."

* * *

DG sat by the window with her arms folded on the window sill and her chin resting on them. The suns were going to rise in less than an hour, but she couldn't sleep. Her eyes still burned from the crying she had done for her father and were probably extremely red. She had thought that once she had stopped crying she would fall asleep in the ball on the floor. Instead her mind kept her up. It was still calling out to her sister, to her mother, to her friends and most of all to Cain. She wanted him there with her, but at the same time she wanted him safe. Maybe she wanted too much. Besides that her stomach was nauseous, probably from all the blood that still surrounded her. Sure, she'd seen horrible battles and wounds in her day, but nothing like this on her own family.

Once the first sun rose DG heard her door to the room open and someone gasp at the picture that laid out before them. In the middle of the room there was a large pool of partially dried blood where the body of the King-consort should have been. From the blood pool they saw a few drag marks along the floor all the way to the window where a young princess was perched with her dress covered in dried blood. Her face slightly smudged half with blood and the other half with now dried tears.

"Where is the body?" his voice sounded a bit strained. The situation must have throne him off. Apparently the great Lord Soren does not have as much experience with magic as he presents himself to have. DG doesn't turn toward him or move from her spot. She hears his boots as they scraped the floor and stepped over the puddle that her father left as he came closer, "Princess Dorothy, where is your father?"

"I would think that you would know the answer to that," DG said in monotone and watched the sky light up in the early morning colors, "He's dead, Soren. You stabbed him yourself."

"I know he's dead. Where is the body?!" Soren asked in frustration, "Who took it?"

DG turned to see him look around the room a bit paranoid. She smirked to herself and thought that she probably looked like Cain when ever he was amused by her naivety toward Ozian things or customs. She rolled her eyes, "You think that if someone came to take the body I wouldn't be here either."

"You should address me as Lord, or you my call me 'my Lord' if that suits better to your tastes," he smiled and focused on the bed to his right.

"That's not going to happen anytime soon," DG mumbled.

"You haven't slept," he noticed the bed was still made and that she was moving a bit sluggishly, "That's not healthy for you."

"It's kind of hard to sleep when you have 'My father's been murdered' scrolling through your head," DG spat.

"Isn't it though?" Soren chuckled to himself and cleared his throat, "You still haven't answered my question, princess."

"And if you haven't figured it out by now, you're an idiot," DG looked back at the sunrise.

Soren stepped next to her and looked down from her perch, "You couldn't have."

"Couldn't have what?" DG frowned and looked down at the sand.

"Did you push your father into the sands?" he asked with an eyebrow raised, "I thought you were better than that. But I suppose it was a way of keeping him out of my hands. Wasn't it?"

DG turned away. If that's what he wanted to believe, it was all the better for her. Cain would get here and the lord would never be the wiser that she had contacted any one of her family or friends back at Finaqua.

"Something caught your tongue, Dorothy?" he asked in a soothing voice and tried to rub her shoulder. She threw his arm off of her and walked to the corner of the room. He sighed and shook his head, "If we are ever going to make our marriage work, you must trust me."

DG glared at him, "Trust? You killed my father over his signature on a fucking piece of paper and you're talking about trust?!"

"Watch your mouth. That's no language for a future queen to use."

"I talk the way I want to scum bags like you, Soren. And you can forget about marriage. I will never marry you, I'd rather die! Once Cain and the others come to get me you are as good as dead!"

"If Wyatt Cain is even alive at the moment," Soren laughed to himself, "He's probably bled out by now and the palace is none the wiser."

DG shook her head to block out the picture even though she knew Cain to be alive and healing at Finaqua or on his way to her rescue. He paused for a moment and took a moment to look at her face and her expressions.

"You are very different than you were as a child," he said off hand and looked into her eyes when she turned to look at him with a large frown, "Your eyes and your emotions are different."

"I grew up," she mumbled.

"Do you remember when we were children?" he asked in a softer voice. She didn't answer and sat to look out the window once again, "We used to race through the maze at Finaqua and when you would come to my parent's castle we would play hide and go seek. We were happy. So happy."

DG noticed his change when he talked about them together and tilted her head a little. Flashes of memories fluttered through her mind and she saw herself laughing as a child. She saw a small boy too, but didn't feel anything but friendship for the boy who kept giving her small flowers. Her eyes narrowed and she looked back at him briefly, "You really loved me when I was a little girl, didn't you?"

"More than I loved anything," he admitted and hoped that he had broken the wall she had between them.

"I'm sorry," she said and then shook her head, her mind immediately going on the defense and her rage building again, "I am not that little girl, Soren. My name is DG, and I love Wyatt Cain. You need to let me go and answer for my father's death."

"Well, I believe that all that excitement from last night might have worked up an appetite. Breakfast is on the floor. A maid will be up shortly to help you wash off and get in to something cleaner," he said quickly in a business like voice and walked to the doorway, "Oh and I'll get her to wash the mess off the floors as well. Until next time, my sweet princess."

A large metal tray was set by her door with bread, fruit and a piece of what looked like cake on top of it. The door closed and locked with Soren smiling behind it. She stared at the tray for a little while and tried to decide whether or not to take the food he offered her. She wasn't hungry even though she knew she should eat. Something was off about the food and she knew it. She didn't need any poisons or serums into her body without knowing how to defend herself against them.

Another hour passed until a maid made it to her room and walked in, dragging a large tub behind her. She looked up at DG and put a hand over her mouth to stop from gagging. It probably was the first time that she had seen so much blood in one place. DG noticed that she was a pretty petite woman, no older than fifteen or so- possibly younger. From the impression that she was getting from Soren, she was probably kidnapped as well.

"I'm here for your bath, your majesty," she bowed her head politely and immediately began to fill the tub with the warm water that she and a few of the guards brought in. She had pretty brown eyes that reminded DG of Azkadellia's and of another person that she hadn't been able to connect her to yet. The maid laid out a new grown on the bed and DG touched the material lightly as to not transfer any blood onto it. It was pink… not her favorite color. Just goes to show that she really was in Hell.

"Would you rather that I wash the floors after or during your bath?" the maid asked. DG watched the door close and took a deep breath.

"You don't have to worry about the floors, I will clean them before I get in the tub," DG said and got down on her knees to begin.

"No!" the girl shouted and pulled DG to her feet, "If the lord ever found out that you had done something meant for me, it would not be good for me."

"Then at least let me help you," DG offered.

"No, get in the tub, my lady. It will not take me long," she said with a nod of her head.

DG sighed, but listened to her. The girl looked distressed already and she didn't want to add to it. She stripped her clothing as the maid got to work on the floor, facing away from her. DG settled into the water and cleaned off what she could. After she scrubbed her skin raw she saw that the maid was finished with the floor.

"Do you need me to get your back, my lady?" the girl asked.

"I wouldn't ask, but I can't reach a spot and I know there's blood," DG looked away.

The maid got behind DG and scrubbed the section of her back as DG sheltered herself from view, "You have a gentle heart, my lady. I am sorry that you were taken by the master."

"How long have you been here?" DG asked and played with the water in front of her.

"I don't remember a time that I was not," she said in quick reply, "I count the days now, though. It helps me to pass by the time in a way."

"You don't remember where you came from?"

The young girl paused and thought for a moment, "I do… I just don't like to remind myself. It's too draining on me."

"I'm sorry," DG paused for a moment and caught her hand with one of hers as it washed over one of her shoulders, "What's your name?"

"Galdra," she answered in a sweet tone, "No one has asked me that."

"What does he call you then?"

"Maid most of the time," she said softer and then tapped her shoulder, "You are all clean, your majesty. You may change now if you like. I will turn around from you."

"Thank you, Galdra," DG smiled and stepped from the tub and quickly put on the new clothes. She heard Galdra empty the tube in a small drain off to the side of the room and then put all the dirty items in the tub to take out the door, "Galdra-"

"Yes, your majesty?" she asked.

"Call me DG."

"As you wish, DG," Galdra bowed her head and looked at the food quickly. DG hadn't eaten even a bite of it and Galdra smiled. Apparently DG had chosen well with not eating what he gave her. She couldn't keep it up forever, though.

DG tore the top blanket from the bed and grabbed a few pillows from the head board. She didn't trust anything in the room he had stuck her in. She'd much rather sleep on the floor. It reminded her when she was on her adventures with Cain, Glitch and Raw. Even of the times out in the wilds with her sister. She missed them all. Sleep finally found her thirty minutes later as she was curled in a small ball, her knees to her chest.

* * *

Cain pulled his horse to a stop as they neared the border line into Winkie Country. He looked behind to find Glitch and Raw both on their own horses and looked a bit saddle sore. Being an advisor and a viewer meant not that much time in the saddle. Cain looked at the border and at a small spot in the land where they could sleep for the night.

"Let's set up for the night," he called back, "We'll enter Winkie country in the morning. It looks like we all will need a break soon anyway."

"I'll say an amen to that," Glitch said as he hopped off his horse and limped over to the spot that Cain looked at earlier. He took a look back at both Cain and Raw to find them staring at him funny. He sighed, "I've picked up on a few of DG's mannerisms."

"I'll say," Cain nodded and climbed off of his horse, "How far is the castle from here?"

"Half a day's ride," Glitch nodded, "We should be there before high suns."

"Good," Cain nodded and set up his small cot on the ground.

"You know, we should do this more often, you guys," Glitch mentioned as he laid out on his own mat across from Cain's and opposite the fire pit from Raw, "I mean, not the whole rescue DG from certain death or forced marriage thing, but the whole going out and doing something thing. We haven't been our trio since the eclipse."

"Never trio," Raw said, "Always had DG."

"That's true," Glitch nodded, "Maybe we should start a men's night. What do you think Cain?"

Cain already had his hat over his eyes and in a comfortable sleeping position, "I say zipper your flap. We got a big day tomorrow and something tells me we got a big fight along with it. Go to sleep."

"And here I thought we were all going to bond," Glitch looked over at Raw who rolled his eyes and rolled over to get some sleep.

After Cain heard Glitch's light snoring and Raw's rolling he took off his hat and looked up at the stars. DG was out there and she was just waiting for him to find her.


	12. Chp 11: Time

**Chapter XI**: Time

DG woke up to her extremely large door opening. She blinked her eyes open to glance around the small room quickly before closing them again. The suns were still shining in through the window so she must have slept only a few hours. Thanks to Cain's training she could tell by the angle the sun was coming through her window it was in the early afternoon. She peeked another eye open as Galdra tried to quietly slip through the door with a small bag in her hand. She shut the door behind her and looked over at DG with a smile.

"I'm sorry to wake you, DG," Galdra scurried to DG's side and sat down next to her on the floor, "Did you sleep well on the floor? I hear that beds are much more comfortable with their mattresses and such."

"I don't trust anything that he has set in this room and that includes the bed," DG heard Galdra giggle as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, "What time is it?"

"It is almost high suns. You've been asleep for close to six hours now," Galdra stated and DG nodded. It was the O.Z.'s equivalent to high noon. Galdra opened the small bag to show DG some fruit, "I took these from the kitchens. They had just arrived from the produce wagon. I noticed that you didn't eat anything that the master had given you. Smart move on your part."

"What's in the food he gives out?" DG asked and bit into an apple. Her nauseous stomach from earlier had died down a little even though she was ready to throw up. She guessed that it was her lack of food and forced more of the apple down, "Is it a kind of poison?"

"Worse," she shook her head, "It's a binding potion. I believe that he must have gotten it from a witch of some sort. It keeps you bound here- to him, even if you manage to get around the Deadly Desert problem."

"Has anyone ever gotten around the desert problem?" DG asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Only one girl has ever been known to escape the castle and the master for a time," Galdra looked at the ceiling as if to recall a distant memory, "She was gone for an hour and then walked herself back into the castle in tears. The master wasn't happy with her. I believe that she was starved after that."

"You don't know what happened to her?"

"I never saw her once she walked back," Galdra lowered her head.

"Hm," DG took another bite out of her apple and thought to herself, "Have you tried to get out of here?"

"After what happened to her, I don't want to try. Even if I haven't eaten any of the bound 'food'," Galdra shook her head vigorously, "But I want to give you a chance. Don't eat his food. I'll bring what I can, but I can't promise steady meals."

"I've survived on less than steady meals," DG nodded, "What do you have to do to break the bond?"

"The one that's bonded or the one that bonds must die," Galdra said solemnly, "Or if you happen to have monstrous amount of magic you may be able to break the spell."

"Usually that would be me," DG played with some recharged magic on her fingertips and Galdra watched in wonder, "Unfortunately, that black blade he used has stopped me from reaching my full potential magic wise. I can only do the little things. I can't even transport myself out of here. And don't worry about killing him one day. As soon as my fiancé gets here, I doubt that the lord will be able to run fast enough. That's also considering if he still has legs."

"You're engaged to be married?" Galdra tilted her head.

"Yeah," DG showed Galdra her left hand, "Didn't notice the ring?"

"It's beautiful," she smiled and turned DG's hand to either side a couple of times to watch the jewel's color change slightly, "Who's the lucky man?"

"Wyatt Cain. Ex-Tin Man and personal bodyguard for the Princess DG. He's the strongest and most noble man I know- best shot with any firearm imaginable too. Besides the fact that he is eye candy as he walks away," DG grinned that soon faded as another thought called reality crossed her mind and sunk in, "I love him so much. And I miss him…"

"Are you and your Tin Man friends?"

"Have been since the moment we met- Well…" DG thought back and rubbed the back of her head, "Actually it took us a little time, but yeah he is my best friend."

"Are you and your sister, the Princess Azkadellia, good friends?"

"The greatest," DG nodded, "She _was_ taken over by the witch, by the way. Don't believe anything else that people may say about her. She blames herself too much for what had happened and she shouldn't. If anyone is to blame, it's me."

"But you saved us all from eternal darkness."

"And I set the witch free to begin with," DG argued and looked away, "Just… never blame her, okay? It was the witch and now the witch is gone. Forever."

"I won't blame her. I don't think I ever did," Galdra shook her head and took a pause, "I heard that the King-consort was here. Where did he leave to?"

"He didn't leave," DG frowned and threw the remnants of the apple in the bag, "Remember all that blood that you cleaned up from my room earlier?"

"Yes."

"That was my father's blood. Soren killed him with that black blade of his," DG growled, "He's gone."

"No…" Galdra gasped and looked at her hands before turning to the floor, "Where is the body?"

"Depends on who you ask," DG grinned a little and leaned her head back on the wall behind her, "If you ask Soren I threw it into the Deadly Desert so he couldn't get his greedy hands on it. Is it the truth? I doubt no one will ever know."

Galdra stood quickly and DG tilted her head to the side, "What's wrong?"

"I hear something," Galdra walked to the window and leaned out slightly to catch any sound she could.

"What is it?" DG asked when she stuck her head back inside.

"I don't know," she shook her head, "It sounds like shouting, maybe a scuffle."

"I think you may just get to meet my fiancé," DG smiled.

"I must get back out before the master discovers me here," Galdra ran toward the door when it burst open with a frantic looking Lord Soren on the other side.

"What's this here?" he grabbed Galdra by the arm and threw her to the side. He picked up the small bag that she had brought to DG and threw it out the window, "Giving the princess company? Or giving her something she doesn't need?"

"I thought all humans needed food to eat. She was making sure that I didn't starve," DG frowned.

"I gave you food to eat," he argued.

"The only problem with that is that I don't trust you," DG knelt next to Galdra, "Are you okay?"

"Princess," she pointed behind her as Soren leaned down and took DG roughly by the arm.

"Come on, princess," he said softly into her ear, "It seems like you have some visitors who are just knocking down the wall to say hello."

"Please, don't do this to her!" Gladra ran to his arm and held the side of it, "Please, Soren. Not to her."

"Let go!" he threw Gladra to the ground as he made his way out of the room with DG in tow.

* * *

"I told you we'd be here by high suns," Glitch said out loud. Raw rolled his eyes and Cain looked closely at the amount of guards and what the best course of action would be. The three of them looked out from behind some bushes that lined the outer ridge of the castle grounds.

"Raw feel pain, frustration inside walls," Raw said quietly and looked intensely at the castle, "Women cry for what lost. Many too young to know what lost was."

"What's that mean Raw?" Glitch asked.

"It means we got to get DG out of there and quick," Cain stared intently at the walls as if he could burn a giant hole in them. It seemed like it would take more force and a lot more machinery to take down the walls of this castle, "You sure that this place was in ruin at one point?"

"It was nearly destroyed in a battle against the Sorceress Mombi, which took place over hundreds of years ago. She had wanted the castle as an outpost along with one she already had. Instead she destroyed it so no one would have it. The lords and ladies of the Eastern Realm have been trying to put it back together since then. Even the original Tin Man, Nick Chopper, who the Central City officers were named after had tried his hand at it once he was named ruler of Winkie Country if I remember my lessons correctly. The desert made it a hardship, but apparently you were right, Cain. Someone finally succeeded in rebuilding it during the witch's reign."

"I think we need to get into the main castle quick and quietly," Cain thought it out, "We find DG, grab her and get our tails out of there. We don't know how much forces he has here with him. We'll come back with another strategy and take them down with the royal army to save the other girls."

"Sounds like a good plan," a voice came from behind them.

All three friends turned around to see two of Soren's winkie soldiers stood behind them. Glitch grinned at them and waved a hand in their direction.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he greeted politely, "Lovely day for castle gazing. We just love the architecture on the front archway."

"Very funny," one of them leaned forward and pulled Glitch into a standing position by the front lapels of his jacket.

"You should take it easy on the clothing," Glitch pointed to the guard's fist wrapped around his jacket.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

Glitch looked down at Cain who held a calm, slight smirk and then back up at the guard with a smirk, "I was actually thinking of dancing."

"Now!" Cain shouted and kicked the guard in front of him hard in the stomach.

The guard crumpled forward and to the ground. Cain hit him in the head and knocked the man out cold. Glitch turned out of his jacket and kicked the man who held him in the back of the head with his foot. The man turned back to Glitch despite the hit where Glitch's other foot followed the first, sending the man to the ground. Glitch walked slowly up to the guard and took the jacket from the guard's relaxed hand and brushed off the dirt with his hand.

"Thanks for holding my jacket," he smiled at the downed guard and pulled the jacket back on.

Raw rolled his eyes at his friend and looked toward the castle, "More guards coming."

Cain followed Raw's glance and ran toward the on coming guards.

"Hey! Don't start dancing without me!" Glitch yelled after him as Raw followed behind.

The guards met them for a small skirmish outside the main gate. Glitch and Cain both took on their own guards while Raw took the last. True, Raw was known more as a healer than a fighter, but ever since the tower he has found the push to protect himself and the people he was with. He punched his hand forward much like Cain had taught him and threw the guard back a few feet. Cain pushed past the last guard at the front entrance and walked into the front courtyard. Glitch kicked his last opponent to the side with Raw coming behind them. Cain and Glitch looked at one another and then at Raw with a raised eyebrow.

"What exactly did you do with your man?" Glitch asked and pointed to Raw.

"Raw have teeth and claws for reason," Raw smiled softly at him which seemed to throw Glitch off and scare him just a little.

"You have claws?" he tried to think back to mental pictures of Raw's hands. From what he did remember they were just like his and Cain's. Raw quickly picked up his hand and pointed to the spikes on his gloves, "Oh claws… got it."

"It sounds like we've alerted most of the castle," Cain looked at the side of the courtyard to make sure no guards were filing in that way, "We got to find DG and quick. DG!"

"Cain, wasn't the whole idea to get in quickly and _quietly_?" Glitch asked as he scanned the immediate area, "And how do we know DG is here? The guards seem in low stock. I was expecting more of a fight."

"I know she's here, Glitch," Cain stopped for a moment and looked up at the balcony that overlooked the restored courtyard, "I can feel her."

Then on the large balcony a head looked over the side and down at the small group of three. Cain looked up hopeful and noticed the long black hair on top of a head of a petite young woman. His heart beat fast and it almost felt like DG's locket burned where it sat on his skin. It was DG, he knew it was.

"DG!" he yelled up to the balcony, but she didn't move. He saw her head flip back as if someone had pulled her hair. He frowned and saw Soren walk up next to her with the black blade against DG's neck.

"Ah, Wyatt Cain to the rescue once again?" Soren laughed and looked at the three of them, "Although, if I recall correctly the last time the princess was on a balcony she was facing the danger alone."

"Let her go Soren," Cain growled.

"You are in violation of O.Z. law," Glitch shouted up to Soren, "Your station nor your parent's place in the queen's heart will save you from your actions."

"Threatening me, are you Advisor Ambrose?" Soren pushed the blade closer to DG's throat and DG could feel the slight pinch of a cut and blood to trickle down her throat, "For the princess's sake, I hope not. Would not want another Gale covered in blood."

Cain barked up at Soren, "For your own sake, Soren, I would let no more harm come to her."

"Or what? You'll kill me, Tin Man?" Soren laughed.

"Give us DG and I'll make sure that your execution is swift," Cain said strongly.

"I have a completely different idea," Soren brought the blade away from DG's throat and tapped it on his lip smearing some of her blood on him, "I'm thinking that since I can't take her for my bride in life. Why not bond us in death?"

He moved the blade back over to DG slowly and she looked down at Cain, "Cain…"

"Don't even think about it!" Cain shouted and ran toward the stairs, "You hurt her- I'll kill you myself!"

Glitch and Raw began to follow when a swarm of guards erupted from the outer gate and washed over them. Cain climbed the stairs as quickly as he could, shooting and pushing guards out of his way as he went. In the courtyard, Glitch and Raw kept the fight up against the other guards while they tried to cross to the stairs to join Cain.

Soren put the blade point over DG's chest and she used what she had of her power to protect herself from him piercing the skin. She heard him chuckle behind her ear and the pressure behind the blade grew more intense.

"Do you think he will come in time to save you, princess?" Soren taunted her.

"DG!" she turned her eyes to the top of the stairs where he would be any second.

"He doesn't have much time."

"Hold on, DG, I'm coming!"

"You can't hold on to your powers for long against this blade," Soren laughed and pushed the blade down further where it touched her skin, right in the middle of the royal seal tattoo still imprinted from the emerald, "That's its power, princess-"

"DG!" Cain sounded struggled by more men in his way. Glitch and Raw yelled as they reached the stairs. She heard a few shots and Cain's boots pounded against the ground, "Don't, Soren!"

"It closes off your power and binds you to me. I can't have you in life. You have told me as much," he said slowly and she felt him take a deep breath, "I will have you on your last, eternal journey. I will have you in death, so is the fate of the black blade."

"Wyatt…" DG whispered as the top of a gray fedora was seen at the top of the stairs.

The pressure of the blade broke through her weak magic shield and stabbed through the middle of the royal crest printed upon her skin. Soren let go of her arms that he had pinned behind her back and let her fall from off the blade. He looked up satisfied to see Cain at the top of the stairs out of breath and completely focused on the fallen princess. He saw Cain's eyes follow her body as it fell from the blade and to the stone floor at his feet. She was motionless and Soren could swear that he heard Cain's heart breaking. He smiled and relished in the moment.

"Not again… Please not DG… NO!" Cain pulled out his pistol and shot it at Soren's head. Soren deflected the bullet with the black blade and laughed loudly at Cain.

"She's gone, Cain. You've lost," Soren laughed harder, "And I will soon join her. You will never have her back. I will be the one bonded to the only uncrowned queen of the O.Z."

Cain took a step forward to stop Soren, but before he could even reach him Soren plunged the blade into his own chest. He stumbled and smiled up at Cain.

"You never had her love…" he choked and fell to the ground only feet from DG.

Cain immediately fell forward and gathered DG in his arms. He leaned over her and began to rock with her in his arms, "No, DG- sweetheart, come back. Open your eyes for me."

She coughed only slightly and hope rose in his chest. Her eyes opened half way and she smiled a little when they met his, "My Tin Man…"

"That's it DG," Cain nodded and turned back toward the stairs, "Raw!"

"I…" she struggled and closed her eyes, "… love you."

"Sweetheart, don't you dare say goodbye to me. Not now."

Glitch and Raw made it to the top and stopped in mid-stride. Glitch stood completely still and had to grip the stone wall beside him for support to do just that. He closed his eyes and prayed that it really wasn't what he saw. He hoped to Ozma that really wasn't his best friend covered in blood. He wanted to believe that DG was safe and she was going to open her eyes at them, telling them all it was just a joke and then laugh it off.

"That's not DG…" he whispered and struggled to breath, "It couldn't- that can't be DG. It isn't… Raw, help her!"

Raw took a step forward to help his fallen friend but also saw the blade to the side. He felt the darkness radiate off of the blade and knew then that he wouldn't be able to help her. His body shook violently and then collapsed next to Glitch finally overwhelmed by the emotions coming not only from Cain and Glitch, but also from himself. He howled into one hand and pounded the stone with the other. The anger, pain and loss all combined into one in his chest and he couldn't do anything but to let it out in cries.

Cain continued to rock DG in his arms, tightly to his chest. Instead of her head resting comfortably on his shoulder as she's done since their first journey through the O.Z., it lolled to the side and bobbed with his rocking motions. He clenched his eyes closed and fought against the horrible realization that had yet to completely set in. She was gone. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and felt her warmth leaving her. She was growing cold despite the warm sun.

"DG," he whispered as if calling to her to wake her up, "Come on, kiddo. You're not done here yet. I know you aren't."

She stayed silent and he pulled back to look at her face. Even through his teary vision he could see that she was drained of color.

"Please, DG. This isn't how it's supposed…" he bit his lip to try to stop himself from crying.

He swallowed deep and looked up to the sky. Tears flowed from his eyes as he held his limp princess in his arms. Then the ache from his heart exploded and a guttural roar bellowed from him. The realization that she wasn't coming back crashed on him in a moment and all he could do was keep a tight hold on the woman he loved.


	13. Chp 12: Hope

**Chapter XII**: Hope

It took a few more moments until the rest of the guards made it up the stairs behind Glitch and Raw. They all stared wide eyed at the blood of the youngest princess and their Lord Soren that covered the stone. Some of the younger guards stepped away and had to find somewhere to empty their stomachs.

Glitch and Raw stood with their backs against the wall on the balcony while Cain still held DG with closed eyes. He took a few deep breaths of her hair and wanted to smile because it still smelled like her favorite O.Z. scent- Papay fruit. He wanted to smile because he could see her smiling face behind closed eyes and could almost hear her laughter in his ears. He wanted to smile because of everything she was, but he knew that the dream he had only nights before was never to come. It was torn apart like a destroyed masterpiece in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes and finally noticed the guards had caught up to them.

He looked over at his two friends and considered each of them. He tilted his head forward and nodded over to them, "Raw."

Raw crawled over and Cain put DG into Raw's arms. Raw was confused for a moment until he felt something from inside Cain. He caught Cain's sleeve before Cain stood up, "What Cain do?"

"I'm going to dance to my heart's content," Cain growled and looked down at DG. She looked as if she had just fallen asleep reading or listening to a story if it weren't for the blood smeared on her face, "Just hold on to her for me. It won't take long."

Glitch began to stand to help Cain, but Cain put a hand out to stop him. He didn't look up from DG and Glitch frowned once he knew Cain meant to do it on his own, "You don't dance well solo."

"I'm going have to learn from now on, won't I?" Cain kept his eyes on DG and Glitch barely heard the break in his usually calm voice.

Cain heard Glitch take a deep breath as if to argue and lifted his head to meet with Glitch's eyes. It was there that both Ambrose and Glitch had found something they had feared more than the witch or any other sorceress ever known in the history of the O.Z. This was Wyatt Cain when he had nothing left. When he didn't have DG. Glitch took a step back and Cain turned to the guards still frozen on the top step.

Cain grabbed the first one he could by the collar of his uniform and shoved him against the wall, "Do you have idea what you all just did?"

"We- we…" the guard struggled to find his thoughts, "We never wanted to hurt the princess. We just followed our lord- our master."

"Didn't want to hurt her!" he screamed and threw him against the wall again, "She's dead! Her blood is all over the ground! The woman I love more than life itself has died before I could reach her because you and your orders stopped me from getting up here! I could have saved her!"

"If we had known what he had planned- we thought he was taking back what was his-"

Cain heard enough from him and punched the guard in the jaw, breaking it to the side and sending him to the ground. Cain took a deep breath and rubbed his knuckles as if putting them back into place. He didn't care if he broke his hand, much less if he broke his neck at that point. His voice died down from yelling to a harsh whisper, "There was an imperial order from the queen of the O.Z. Why didn't you heed it?"

The guards would have much rather if Cain had stuck to yelling at them. His harsh whispers sounded more like growls and none of them wanted to face the beast with in Cain. They backed away from Cain and tried to back down the stairs. They weren't getting away from him when he wanted his answers. He took steps forward to follow the retreating men until a hand fell on his shoulder. Cain turned and expected to see Glitch trying to stop him. Instead he found a young girl no more than fifteen annuals staring up at him.

"Are you Wyatt Cain?" she asked softly. He didn't answer her at first from slight shock and stood as still as he could as if that would make him disappear. Slowly he nodded his head and she gave him a small smile, "She loved you, you know? She told me that you were the noblest man in the O.Z. and her best friend. I just wanted you to know this isn't what she would have wanted on your mind. To have the death of soldiers who were only following orders on your hands. I don't tell you this to lecture you or tell you that I'm any better. I think it's a way for me to say thank you to both you and her for helping to free us."

Cain looked behind her and saw dozens of other girls behind her. Most of their faces were dirty and half of them looked starved. Soren was keeping captives. He looked back down at her, "I didn't do anything. He killed himself."

"You scared him… that drove him to do it quickly. You gave him no choice in the matter," she smiled wider.

"Who are you?" he asked down at her.

She sighed loudly, "I am the sister that Lord Soren said he never had."

"Lady Aniline's unborn daughter," Glitch paused for a moment and saw the eyes of the late Lady of the Eastern Winkie lands.

"Yes, I am Gladra," she nodded and looked at the body of her brother, "My brother has tried to keep me hidden away and made sure that I was not known of. That way he had full control over the lands and no one questioned him. Now that he has done this… maybe I will be able to help this land like my mother and father wanted. The line isn't dead- part of it was just forgotten."

Cain stared at her for another moment, unsure what to feel for the young girl. She was so young, but she had maturity behind her eyes. Annuals of suffering under the hand of her brother could have done that to her.

"I am truly sorry for you, Mister Cain," she said softly, "I had talked with the princess and I wish nothing more than to be the one upon that blade. Not her. She's so much better than that. Our princess."

Cain took a deep breath, looked at the guards who now cowered from him and then walked back over to Raw. He took DG from his arms and cleared his throat.

"Let's get her back to Finaqua. Let's go home," he walked to the stairs and Raw followed behind him quickly. Glitch took the black bladed dagger, wrapped it in a cloth that was handy and stuffed it in his pocket. It needed to be studied and then destroyed. If it stopped Gale magic it couldn't do any good in the O.Z.

Glitch turned to Gladra, "What are you going to do now?"

"What ever I can," she nodded and looked at the ground, "My parent's dream for this land is not forgotten by a long shot. Tell the queen that once this is passed… I will do whatever she wishes of me. I want to undo my brother's wrongdoings. At least, what can be undone."

Glitch nodded briefly and ran after Cain and Raw.

The guards parted for the trio and especially Cain who carried DG up front. They walked straight out the front gate and successfully found their horses grazing nearby. All the girls that were trapped in Soren's tower ran off in the direction of their homes. Galdra stood at the top of the stone balcony and watched the three men ride off. She and DG were more alike than they had thought. They were so young when they were shoved into a seat of power.

Cain held on to DG when he mounted his horse. He wanted to hold her for as long as he could considering that once they got back to Finaqua he would never have her in his arms again. He held her in front of his body where he had to wrap his arms around her to get to the reigns of the horse. As soon as Raw and Glitch settled on their own horses they were off. They headed home.

* * *

DG felt herself floating. She knew she wasn't in water or any where near any water supplies. Besides, this sensation felt much more different than the waters of Finaqua or the small pools around the palace had felt in the past.

Wait a minute… wasn't she stabbed?!

Her eyes flung open and her hands flew to her chest. Nothing was there except for the tattoo of her family's crest. Of which, strangely enough, was glowing. She also noticed that she was no longer in that God-awful, pink monstrosity that Soren had put her in. She was now in a white robe-like dress that had a deep v-neck down her front and back. It was simple and quite comfortable, something that should could have used back at the palace. Nothing was on her feet or under her feet for that matter. She was completely surrounded by a fog, a deep green-gray fog. Instead of stepping through it she seemed to just glide.

"Ok, this is a bit freaky," DG said to herself, "Am I dead?"

"Not in the complete sense of the term, no," a voice giggled behind her.

DG shifted around the best she could. There in the mist stood a young looking woman with the same kind of dress as hers and long black hair. She looked through crystal green eyes, smiled softly and held out a hand for DG.

"Who are you?" DG asked and squinted her eyes at her new floating companion.

"Someone you can trust, dear princess," she laughed at DG's hesitation, "Take my hand, you are in no danger here."

DG did so since she doubted that she couldn't get any more dead than she already could be. The woman pulled her down to the denser fog that acted like a floor. Her legs wobbled twice and then she had her balance once gravity took place once more. She looked at the woman a little closer and then her eyes were immediately drawn and focused on the crown on top of her head.

"You're a queen!" DG knew there was no mistaking the crown. It was just like her mother's. She had seen it millions of times before the coronation in pictures of her mother and past monarchs.

"I was a queen, yes," the woman put a hand over DG's, "My name is Ozma."

"Ozma?" DG's eyes bugged, "You mean _the_ Ozma?"

"The last queen before the royal line of the Gale House began," Ozma nodded, quite amused by DG.

"But if I'm here talking to you wouldn't that mean that I am dead?" DG asked.

"Not quite. You are enchanted by an evil of old disguised as a treasure," Ozma frowned for the first time since meeting DG, "You are trapped, DG."

"That figures," DG huffed, "Just got rid of the witch, why not enchant me with an evil knife? So where exactly am I trapped? The O.Z. version of the Twilight Zone?"

"No, dear one. This is the gates to the final resting place of the queens of the past. I am here to make sure that you do not cross just yet."

She patted the front of her chest, "That was a pretty good sized hole for me not to… permanently retire. Not to mention the blood loss."

"The motion of the blade piercing you was meant to send you beyond these gates and into his hands. Not to take your life entirely."

"His hands? You mean, Soren? He's here?"

Ozma nodded and turned her around to show her a portion of the fog in the far distance stained red, "He will stop at nothing to claim you. He felt as if you should forever be his. Don't stop fighting him. _Never _stop fighting him. Your love will come for you and with it your salvation. Don't give up hope. It is your best weapon."

"How do I fight him?" DG asked.

"Follow your magic and your heart," Ozma whispered and looked behind her as if being called. She nodded and turned back to DG, "You will be here with us one day, DG. But it shouldn't be until you are old and gray and the next generation has taken the throne."

"Good to know," DG sighed as she sat down and watched the red fog in the distance. Ozma joined her in the fog. They both could hear Soren's voice yelling for her through different banks. He didn't know that she'd land in a totally different place than he did. He was expecting to fall right behind her.

"What do I do now?" DG asked softly.

"You wait. You will awaken soon enough," Ozma looked at the fog, "You must have patience for those on the other side of consciousness. They will free you soon enough. And then the real tests begin."

"Tests?"

"Trials and tribulations lie ahead of you. Your true salvation from this monster is going to be found in not only yourself but also in the one you truly love."

"Wyatt…"

"He needs to be the one to lead the way back."

DG thought to herself and came up with a few ways to get his attention. She turned to Ozma, "Why is that I always receive big spouts of news from past monarchs or huge players that have died in the O.Z.?"

"I'm not quite sure, your highness. Maybe it is one of your gifts."

"Great, I'm a princess and a medium," DG smirked at Ozma, "Are you going to sit with me until I go back?"

"As you wish, princess."

* * *

"Mother, come quickly!" Azkadellia screamed from the central room of the palace. She was taking some time to collect her thoughts and more or less talk to her father when the emerald began to glow on its own. Lavender and Jeb Cain ran into the room to see what had Azkadellia so alarmed.

"'Dellia?" Lavender ran to Azkadellia and hugged her tightly, "What is wrong?"

"The emerald," Azkadellia pointed to it and touched her chest, "My chest feels… I don't even know how to quite describe it. It felt so heavy a little while ago, but now I feel so light. Like I'm floating."

Lavender's eyebrows furrowed and she grabbed the emerald from its resting place, "I feel that something is coming."

"Another storm?" Azkadellia put a protective hand over her stomach.

"No… something new-"

"Captain! Your majesties!" a young guard burst through the doors, "Captain, your father has returned. He's at the edge of the maze as we speak. It looks like he has the princess riding in front. Advisor Ambrose and Raw the viewer are with him."

"Thank the stars. They are all home," Lavender breathed and ran out the door with Azkadellia by her side. Jeb kept a strong pace behind them.

At the edge of the maze Cain still held DG close. They had walked the horses the entire way back. They never stopped for too long of a time. The horses would drink and graze for a few moments and then they were back on the road again. The ride didn't bother Cain, he was numb- both physically and emotionally. He heard Glitch try to reach out to him a few times on the way back, but everything seemed to be blocked out except for the memory of DG's laugh in his head.

Lavender and Azkadellia watched from the front of the palace as Cain led the other two horses. Azkadellia's smile couldn't get any bigger now that she had her little sister and husband back. She watched them come closer and she caught something off. The heaviness in her chest returned and she looked closely at DG's form. She was covered in blood and was slumped against Cain.

"Something's wrong," she said quickly and led her mother to the end of the palace steps where Cain stopped his horse. He slid off of his horse carefully, still cradling DG in his arms. Azkadellia was the first to reach the group and looked into her sister's pale face. Her breathing quickened and looked straight into Cain's face, "Why isn't she breathing?"

"DG, my angel," Lavender whispered and shook her head, "No, not her too."

"Let's get everybody inside," Jeb said and pushed at his father's back.

Glitch took Azkadellia by the hand and swept her inside first. Lavender walked next to Cain who had so far refused to let DG go. Jeb walked behind with Raw who could only shake his head when asked what happened. Jeb saw something distant in his father's eyes. Something he hadn't seen since his father was first shoved into the Iron maiden so many years ago.

Once inside Cain laid DG down in her bed and nearly collapsed himself. Jeb caught him by the arm and helped him into a chair just off to the side of the bed. Lavender barked for medics and examiners for her daughter, but Raw shook his head as a negative. He already knew that noting could be done. Azkadellia sat on the bed opposite from where her mother was and looked over her sister. Lavender took the first look at the wound and covered her mouth in shock.

"What did this to her?" she turned to Glitch who was behind Azkadellia.

"This did, your majesty," he took out the dagger from his pocket and unwrapped the cloth from around it, "We believe that he used it to cut her magic as well."

"Why did you bring that thing back here?" Cain asked quietly at first and then stood up abruptly, "That thing should be burned! Destroyed, do you hear me?!"

Jeb grabbed his father by the shoulders and shoved him back down into the chair, "Father, that's not going to help or bring her back."

Cain turned away from the dagger and decided to pace at the side of the room. Jeb watched his father and looked at Raw. Raw nodded and went over to Cain to try to do what he could.

Lavender looked closely at the blade and then touched it with one finger. Her hand reared back and she shook it as if it had burned her. Glitch looked at the blade and then at the queen with a question written on his face as he didn't feel any heat coming from it.

"Did it burn you, your majesty?" he asked and tried to feel the warmth of the blade through the cloth.

"No," she shook her head, "It's ice cold."

Azkadellia's head popped up from focusing on her sister and looked at her mother, "What did you say?"

"The blade was cold. Ice cold," she looked at Azkadellia hard, "Why? What's wrong?"

Azkadellia's eyes darted from the blade to her sister's body and to her mother, "That's no ordinary magic blade."

"How do you mean?" Jeb asked.

"This is the Slayer of Hearts," Azkadellia said and leaped off the bed as fast as she could considering the weight on her front. She ran to the room across the hall which was hers and Glitch's to come back with a book. She flipped through the pages and pulled it open to a specific page, "The witch had looked for this blade while she was still in control. I remember reading about it."

"What does it do?"

Azkadellia began to read from the page in front of her,

"_There is tell of a story of a treasure of old. The wielder's fate repeats over and over it's told._

_This tale of a dagger that plunges in hearts, used against magic its power make lovers depart._

_True love is power and love will last, but even royalty cannot escape their past._

_Bonded in heart and love is pure- but when connected by blade it is never grandeur._

_An affect on another heart is tricky and bold,_

_This, the power of metal that has grown so cold…"_

"What does that mean?" Cain asked intent on the subject, but growing impatient. Azkadellia hesitantly reached her hand for her sister's praying that she was right. She grabbed her sister's hand. Immediately, just like it always had, magic shown brightly from their joined hands.

Lavender gasped at the sight, "Praise the unnamed God."

"It means, Cain, that DG might still be alive," Azkadellia said with hope shining brightly in her eyes.


	14. Chp 13: Slayer

**Chapter XIII**: Slayer

"So how exactly does this 'Slayer of Hearts' work?" Cain asked against the door frame of his and DG's bedroom.

He cleaned his own skin of all the blood and Azkadellia summoned clean clothes for him and put them on his body with him barely noticing. Azkadellia and Lavender changed DG out of the bloody gown she had on and cleaned what they could off of her skin. Raw had gone to the medic wing to bring back what supplies he could with Jeb's help. Glitch was still thumbing through the book trying to find more information on the blade and where it was made and what they could do now.

"No one really understands how it works," Azkadellia sighed and looked at Cain, "It is meant to trap a certain person in a type of limbo. Once they are effectively trapped and other loved ones believe that they are dead, the other party would stab themselves, thus trapping them both in limbo. When the second stabbed party finds the first on the other side- in that limbo- they are joined forever, they hearts bond and they come back to life. One can't leave the side of the other unless they choose to die. When the blade is used and both members are on the limbo side of death, the blade turns ice cold until one or both are brought back. And if the person that is to be stabbed first has any magic abilities, said magic abilities are cut away with every cut that the blade makes into the skin."

"Which explains why DG couldn't use her powers," Cain looked at the ceiling.

"And why did the witch want this?" Glitch asked and glared at the dagger.

"It was a way to injure a good portion of the opposition that was resisting her," Azkadellia explained and wiped the last of the blood from DG's face, "And when brought back, they had no choice but to serve her. Or die. Either way, she would win."

"But that would mean that she would have to stab herself to use it effectively," Cain observed.

"Not necessarily," Azkadellia shook her head, "She had planned to use her generals. That way there was no chance of someone usurping her power when she found all those she trapped."

"If DG is trapped and he is searching for her, how much time do we have? And more importantly, how do we get her un-trapped and back to the land of the living without him catching her?" Cain asked with his arms crossed. Azkadellia knew that he was just trying to cover up for the urge to hold her sister. Since she was brought home Azkadellia and Lavender hasn't let anyone else come near DG, much less hold her.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" she asked back at him, "I think you're the solution."

"How's that?" Cain uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. Ever eager to help when it concerned DG and he was tired of standing around doing nothing.

"In the telling of the blade, it stated that true love was power. You and DG have that true love and I think that you are the one to bring her back," Azkadellia put a finger to her chin in thought, "The only problem is I don't know how you use that love to get her back to her body. I don't know if it's through magic or just talking to her."

"So we're at a dead end and that gives Soren a chance to get to her," Cain frowned and threw his hat off to the side of the room. He picked up the locket from under his shirt and opened it to look at his and DG's picture inside.

Glitch looked up from his reading and caught Cain looking in the locket. He smirked and tried his shot at lightening the mood in the room, "When did Tin Men start wearing jewelry?"

"Shut it before I put a zipper on it," Cain said and didn't look away from the locket. Glitch kept his smirk on his face, but obeyed Cain's wishes and turned back to his reading. Cain looked into DG's picture and into her eyes, willing the same smile from the picture to appear on her real face. He had to blink as he suddenly thought he saw the lips move on her picture. He looked again and caught the lips move once more. They were moving. He tried to make out what they were saying and could only catch one word, repeated over and over.

'Emerald.'

"I doubt that Soren will find her," Lavender said tiredly, dragging Cain out of what he thought was a delusion and stood up from the bed, "Many of the Gale line have a place reserved for them on the road beyond- or so it is said. If DG is anywhere near there in this 'limbo', then she would be protected by our ancestors."

Cain rubbed his face with his hand to get over what ever he saw in the locket and Lavender walked to him. She put a light hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry too much, Mister Cain. You will find a way to wake her. I am sure of it."

"Are you retiring for the night, mother?" Azkadellia asked.

"Yes," she tried to hide a heavy sigh and looked at DG.

"If you want, you may use my bed for now," Azkadellia smiled, "If anything happens than I shall come and get you. It is only the across the hall."

Lavender smiled and leaned over DG to kiss Azkadellia on the forehead, "Thank you, 'Dellia."

"You're welcome," she smiled.

Lavender leaned over DG and kissed her on the forehead as well, "Come back to us soon, my angel."

As she leaned back the emerald slipped from one of her gown pockets and onto DG's chest where the wound sat. The emerald began to glow and pulse in bright light. Cain hurried to the side of the bed and watched it carefully. If there really was a message for him inside the locket he was going to keep close tabs on the crystal now sitting on DG's chest. As the emerald began to glow brighter the tattoo on DG's chest glowed along with it.

"What's it doing?" Cain asked and started to reach for the emerald. Glitch was about to knock his hand away when the light grew brighter as Cain's hand came nearer. Then when Cain brought his hand away from the emerald the light dimmed.

"Cain, try it again," Glitch said intrigued.

Cain nodded and put his hand over the emerald and the wound on DG's chest. The light grew brighter and through the rays of the light the small group around DG could see the stab wound start to close up on itself. Cain took his eyes away from the sight to check on DG's face, but still saw no response.

"What's happening?" Glitch tried to read through the book and watch the miracle at the same time.

"I do believe that we have found our avenue for you to reach her, Cain," Azkadellia could have squealed with joy, "That's why the emerald was glowing earlier. DG was trying to tell us something."

'Telling us all something,' Cain thought to himself and glanced at the locket that was hanging from his neck and then back to concentrate on the wound, 'That's my girl. Come on back home.'

He felt the heat from the light and tried to force it back into DG's body. The light read his actions and curled in the air before flowing into DG's body and into her veins. The light wound through her as if it was her blood reentering her veins. The color began to come back to DG's face slowly.

"That's it, Cain," Azkadellia smiled and Glitch held his wife's hand tightly. He dropped the book to the floor a moment prior and had forgotten it there.

Soon the wound stitched itself up as the light faded from both the tattoo and the emerald. The wound was soon no more and nothing marred DG's skin. All at once DG's lungs kicked in and took a much needed deep breath of fresh air. Cain smiled and laughed in relief.

"That's it, sweetheart," Cain nodded and cupped the side of her face with his hand. He stoked her cheek with his thumb and kept tab on her breathing rhythm, "Breath in deep, DG."

Both Raw and Jeb took the opportunity to come through the doors with medical supplies in hand. Cain turned to his son with a large smile.

"She's breathing," he said and laughed a little more. Raw ran to the side of the bed as Azkadellia moved off to the side to let him have a good look at DG. Cain kept his hand in one of DG's as Lavender sat near the end of the bed.

Raw put one of his hands on DG's forehead and another over where the wound was. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the task at hand and if there were any other injures still present in her chest or mind. He grunted a few times and then nodded. He leaned back and set to work to put together a small potion for her.

"DG weak," Raw picked out a few herbs and began to break them into the bowl he had, "Will take time to come back to DG. But DG come back. DG too strong and stubborn not to."

"Careful that's my future wife, you're talking about, furball," Cain warned him.

"Thank Ozma," Glitch smiled and hugged Azkadellia around her shoulders. Lavender took the emerald from the bed and put it back in her gown pocket. It had done its job and helped to save the princess and the kingdom once again.

"I do believe this has been an eventful night," Lavender smiled again and kissed DG's forehead before she turned to the door.

"My bed is still open, mother," Azkadellia offered.

"Your majesty, a word please," Glitch said quickly and pulled the queen off to the side before she could leave. Cain watched them for a moment. Lavender nodded a few times and then said something back to Glitch. He came back over to Azkadellia and pushed her gently toward Lavender, "Speaking of bed you should head off to as well. You, my dear have our child to tend to and fretting over your sister will not help. You two head to bed. I'm going to do some more research before I hit the hay."

"Where will you sleep when you do go to sleep?"

"I will find a bed. We are not at a loss of them here," Glitch smiled and kissed his wife goodnight.

"Goodnight, Wyatt," Lavender put a hand back on Cain's shoulder, "Thank you, so much."

"There is nothing else I could have done, your majesty," he nodded at her, "I had to bring her home."

Azkadellia rounded the end of the bed and gave Cain one of the biggest hugs she had ever given anyone, "Thank you for bringing her back, Cain. I don't know what we would have done without you or without her."

"You're welcome, Az," he whispered and patted her on the back with the hand that he wasn't holding on to DG with.

Both Lavender and Azkadellia left quickly to the next room over for rest. Glitch stood from his chair with the book in his hands.

"I'm going to the library to see if I can't find anything else on the Slayer of Hearts. From what I've read so far, DG may be the only one to get out of limbo this way," Glitch shifted on his feet, "I just want to make sure that this isn't going to come back and haunt us later. And I would love to learn if Lord Soren would be stuck forever in limbo."

"Good plan," Cain nodded, but stopped him briefly, "What did you tell the queen?"

"That there was still a bit of Aniline out there somewhere. Gladra won't make the same mistakes as her brother. She knows better," Glitch smiled and patted Cain on the back as he left for the library, "Get some sleep."

"Dad?" Jeb asked from over by the medical supplies, "Anything I can do?"

"Go tell that fiancée of yours to stop worrying," Cain smirked at his son, "She's probably heard about DG coming in to the palace dead and if that's true I'm surprised I haven't heard her searching up and down the halls for us. Go spend some time with her and give her some information. I'll come and talk with you two tomorrow. Tell you two how she's doing and all."

"Yes, sir," Jeb nodded with a gentle smile.

Raw still fiddled with the different herbs and caught Cain out of the corner of his vision watching him.

"Cain have question?" Raw asked and sat in a small chair to mix the remedy he was concocting.

"Are you going to try and shove some of that stuff down DG's throat?" Cain raised an eyebrow, "Because I know what it tastes like and I doubt she would appreciate it as the first thing she eats at home."

"Will help strengthen heart and lugs," Raw nodded, "Help her wake up. Help her come back to Cain."

"I hate it when you talk me into it," Cain turned back to DG as he heard Raw laugh to himself. He watched the color on her cheeks return to normal and her breathing becoming more rhythmic. She was really sleeping this time. He shut his eyes in relief and never noticed how tired he really was. First he was numb and didn't want or need sleep. But now the adrenaline had died down and he was feeling every ache and pain.

"Cain tired. Need sleep," Raw said in sharp tone to tell the Tin Man he wanted it done not thought over.

"I'm not leaving her again," Cain fought with his eyelids.

Raw rolled his eyes and walked over to Cain's side of the bed. He hooked his hands under Cain's arms and lifted him halfway onto the bed, "Didn't tell Cain to leave DG. Lead her home. Stay with her, but sleep."

"All right, furball. All right," Cain nodded and was thankful that Azkadellia summoned him some clean clothes while she and Lavender were washing DG of her own blood. The last thing he needed was to sleep in blood. He had before and he didn't want a repeat experience.

He settled down along side DG and tried not to disturb her. As soon as he found a position he could deal with he felt DG's fingers on her left hand intertwine with the fingers of his left hand which was right beside hers. He pulled their hands together to let her know he was there and buried his nose in her hair. He closed his eyes and fell to sleep with the scent of Papay fruit surrounding his senses.

* * *

The next morning Cain woke up to the sound of movement in the room. He cracked an eye open to find Azkadellia making herself comfortable in the plush chair next to the bed. She smiled sheepishly and waved at him.

"Good morning," she whispered and grabbed a hold of DG's hand. Their linked magic shown brighter than the night before and Azkadellia beamed with happiness.

"How is your mother?" Cain asked from the other side of DG's head.

"She's okay, better than normal, actually," Azkadellia nodded, "She checked on DG this morning. I'm surprised she didn't wake you up."

"Any news about Galdra?"

"Not much," she shook her head, "We are going to help her as much as we can. She's only fifteen. She deserves a bit better than what she must have had with a brother like Soren."

"How's your husband?"

"He fell asleep in the library and is now comfortably lying in bed. Raw found him this morning snoring away in a pile of books," Azkadellia smiled and giggled a little to herself, "He hasn't done that since he was studying all the laws to become mother's advisor."

Cain smirked and looked down at DG's face. She had moved very little in the night. Something he wasn't entirely used to. She had a thing about rolling every once in a while during the night, but she stayed still all through the night. The only thing she moved was her head. It was tilted toward him and placed directly on his shoulder.

"She looks better today," Azkadellia noticed, "Raw told me to try and share some magic with her. Might bring her to faster."

"Anything that can help is much appreciated," Cain nodded and pushed himself next to DG to keep her warmer. She still felt cold to him, but after having all your blood drained out, he would think that he would have gotten a bit cold too.

"I saw Jeb earlier in the halls, he says that he looks forward to hearing how DG is doing later," Azkadellia tried to keep the conversation moving, "I'm guessing you told him that you were going to see him later?"

"Yeah, I told him I'd drop by his room."

"Are you hungry?" Azkadellia blurted out of no where. Cain knew that she was probably having one of her pregnancy cravings and nodded to her even though he really wasn't that hungry at all.

"I feel that some fruit and sweet morning bread would hit the right spot," Azkadellia nodded to herself and stood up, gently placing DG's hand back down on the bed, "I'll bring some back up to you in just a little while."

"Sounds great, Az."

Azkadellia immediately made a beeline for the kitchens and Cain couldn't help but to think back to when Adora was pregnant with Jeb. He would have to take off to find a vendor that sold her favorite deserts at all hours of the night. It was a nightmare. Then again when DG has her cravings she may want an 'other side' dish, and then Ozma help him in that situation. He isn't running through a tornado in the middle of the night just to get her a slice of- what did she call it? Pizza?

He placed a hand on her stomach and rubbed through the material as if he could picture the lump that would form. She would be carrying their child. The perfect combination of him and her… oh the days and nights of fun they were going to have with that kid. With her talent of finding trouble and his quick thinking to get back out of it the kid will have an equal balance. He rubbed his hand over her stomach again and could almost feel the lump. He had to hand it to himself- he didn't think he had that great of an imagination.

"Mmmm…" DG mumbled in her sleep and turned on her side and then immediately curled up next to him.

"DG?" he asked and rubbed up and down her arm. He felt his heart leap into his throat and prayed hard that it wasn't a dream.

"I don't wanna get up, Cain," she mumbled again into his shirt, "Let's sleep in past sunrise for once. I'll explain to Toto why you were late for etiquette."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. That was his DG all right.

"DG, sweetheart," Cain pulled away only slightly to look down at her. It looked like she refused to open her eyes and he kissed them both before she reluctantly opened them, "Hey there, my princess. You don't know how glad I am to see you awake."

"I have an idea," she smiled up at him, "I'm glad you got my locket message. Thanks for leading me back to the land of the living."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he leaned down to kiss her until Azkadellia screamed in happiness from the door way.

"DG's awake!" she ran into the room, nearly throwing breakfast items to the small side desk. She jumped on the bed, effectively throwing Cain off. DG laughed as her sister hugged her tightly. Next was Lavender followed by the rest of the gang. Cain waited patiently as they all took their turns. He even smirked as Raw made DG take another gulp of his remedies. She tried to keep a smile on her face, but it faltered a few times.

As everyone tried to throw questions at her, she put a hand up, "As much as I love you all, all I want right now is snuggle up to my fiancé and get some more sleep. I don't think I'm completely over it yet."

Cain walked back to the bed and got comfortable. Azkadellia and Glitch shooed everyone out and bid the couple a good rest.


	15. Chp 14: To Have You Back

**A/N:** Well Merry Christmas to all my readers out there, I hope you are enjoying your day and get to spend time with loved ones. I know I will miss mine all day today seeing as I will bein Florida while they are at home in California. But I will be home soon. So, for a Christmas gift, a new chapter! Please enjoy and I will update soon.

**Chapter XIV**: To have you back

For the following couple of days after her wake call everyone treated DG just as she had feared. Like a freaking breakable porcelain doll. She hadn't taken more than twelve steps in the last couple of days total. And that was only to bathe or to use the bathroom. To top it off, she was never alone!

If her mother wasn't in the room worrying over her then Azkadellia would be in the room talking about her pregnancy or how Glitch was taking to some extra duties. Speaking of Glitch and Raw they had turned into her own private medical team. Raw would check on her chest and her head while Glitch would update her on any information that he found on the blade that had nearly killed her.

Then there was the worst of them all. Wyatt Cain was the one that insisted that he carried her wherever she may want to go. That included the bathroom, the kitchens, the balcony and even when she wanted to go with him to talk with Jeb and Kelly after she initially woke up. She loved the man to no end, but she had legs for a reason. And that reason was to walk on her own.

On the third morning DG had just said goodbye to her sister after a discussion of how much the baby kicks and noticed that no one was outside her door to take their place in the empty chair. She held her breath for a minute to see if she would find her mother or Glitch pop their head in to check on her. She smiled and breathed a long sigh when no one came in.

"Finally," she huffed and threw the blankets off her lap. She walked to the wardrobe, pulled out some O.Z. tailored jeans and one of her favorite tops. She grabbed a small piece of ribbon from another dress that she was sure she would never wear again and tied her hair back. She knew she couldn't get away with escaping from her room. Cain's crazy Tin Man senses would kick into play and she would be back in bed in no time.

She settled for sitting on the balcony in the fresh air with her sketch pad. There had been a few pictures in her mind that she wanted to get on paper before she forgot them completely. She leaned back in her chair let the sun warm her skin and began to sketch quickly with one of the lead pencils she had found. On the first sketch she tried her best to capture the memory of Galdra and how she had helped her. She wondered about the girl and if she had made it back home safely.

The next sketch was more detailed. She had a dream that made her smile and some how made her know that she was going to overcome what was going to defy her. And if this dream didn't come true, then no other dreams of hers would matter.

Ten minutes unto her new drawing, she didn't even notice the door to her room open. A surprised Cain would have started a palace wide search in moments if he didn't notice the balcony doors open and DG sitting in a chair sketching right behind them. He brought in the tray of food from lunch and placed it carefully on their bed. He shook his head at the clothes she changed out of and threw on the floor. She was possibly the messiest princess he has ever known of.

Cain walked out on the balcony behind her and looked over her shoulder at the pictures she was working on. She seemed to go back and forth between two of them, apparently still not completely happy with the first. The first one was the portrait of the new Lady Galdra who stopped him from killing more people than he had to the day DG had died again.

Then the second picture reminded him of a landscape, but there were a two people sprinkled in the picture. He saw a tall figure in a coat behind a sitting woman on the shore of what he could have sworn was Finaqua. He saw that she added a fedora to the top of the tall figure's head and shook his head. He should have known.

"Drawing a couple's portrait there, kiddo?" he asked as he leaned over her shoulder. He felt her jump at the intrusion and then she rolled her eyes at him.

"For your information I was drawing a dream I've been having," she smeared some of the lead on the shore to give some depth and looked straight up at him, "But yes, it is us."

"You've only got it half done," he nodded his head at it.

"Well, if my wonderful family and fiancé would let me alone once in a while and walk around more often then I could start and finish pictures a lot faster," she raised her eyes brows at him.

"You died, DG. You do realize that people die once in their lifetime?" he asked her and she nodded, "And you've now died twice and come back both times."

"And I'm stronger than ever," DG smiled, "Maybe I'm part cat or something."

"Why would you say that?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Well, if I was part cat than I would have nine lives," DG held up nine fingers as Cain settled in the chair across from the one she was sitting in. He nodded to tell her that he was listening and she went on, "I have used two of those. That means that I have seven left. Maybe I should- oh I don't know… live more dangerously. Test this theory out."

"You do that, princess and I won't leave it at locking you in your room. I will personally see to it that your legs and arms are tied to your sides. You'll be put under constant watch and I know that your mother will agree with me," Cain pointed at her, "If you don't die from all your 'adventures' than I will die from a heart attack just trying to keep you alive."

DG laughed at him and made him smile. He had missed that laugh.

"I see you were drawing Gladra. It's a very good likeness," he leaned over and turned the page back to see the young girl's face again.

"You knew Galdra?"

"I met her," he nodded, "She's going to do a great good for her people."

"For her people?"

"Your mother didn't tell you?"

"She's been tip toeing around everything except my health since I got up."

"Galdra is sister to Soren," he explained, "She's his younger sister. She was born and kept secret. She's lived under his rule for annuals. She's going to help any way she can and get that place back to where it should be."

"I never would have guessed… no wonder she didn't tell me," she got from her chair, put the sketchbook in her seat and sat in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"She'll make it, I'm sure."

A few moments passed between them and DG began to laugh to herself.

"You really don't worry, you know. I'm not going to do anything purposely to get into trouble. You can calm yourself down," she kissed his neck and then immediately sat straight, leaned away from him and pointed at his face, "But you and everyone else have got to stop laying it on so thick. Yeah, I died, but you brought me back. Yeah my body was a bit weak, but I'm stronger. I'm not going to break while walking around the palace."

"DG, we don't know how your body will react when you were on the other side for so lo-"

"I'll make it worth your while," DG cupped the side of his face and kissed him passionately on the lips. Her legs moved to straddle his lap and her hips involuntarily pushed against his. They both moaned against the action and Cain gripped at her hips to keep her still. He couldn't be held liable for his actions if she continued and he didn't know who would stick their head into the room as DG is recuperating. Although she couldn't care less as she was a little pint up in the lover's affection department considering Cain thought she was 'oh so fragile' at the moment.

She leaned back from him and noticed that he was trying to follow her lips with his own. She took his fedora off his head and placed it on her own, "So what do you say, bodyguard?"

He sighed and looked at the sky. She smiled and knew she won her argument even before he sighed, "Ok, DG."

"Great," she hopped off his lap and walked into the bedroom to look at the tray of food that Cain had prepared for her, "What did you bring me to eat?"

"Chicken with some potatoes and cornbread," he smiled and picked up one of the golden squares.

"Ah, so mom is cooking again, huh?" DG stuck a piece of the chicken into her mouth and nodded, "Yup, that's Kansas cooking right there. Glitch and Az grabbing handfuls of this stuff?"

"You have no idea," Cain laughed and thought back to the picture at lunch, "Az was trying to eat as many as she could as Glitch was stuffing not only his mouth, but a side bag to carry it off to the lab. Probably trying to find out how it is made since Emily has refused to tell him her recipe."

DG laughed harder and held her sides at the picture that was growing in her mind.

"DG?" Lavender lightly tapped on the door and walked in after DG mumbled a 'come in' while trying to chew her chicken. Lavender saw DG with a brighter smile on her face and Cain's fedora on her head and made the connection. Her face grew somber and took a deep breath to discuss the subject at hand, "It's not a very good subject, I'm afraid."

"What is it?" she asked afraid that they had found out about some back firing issues about the blade.

"It's your father," Lavender said quickly like she was ripping off a Band-Aid. DG's smile immediately turned into a grimace and she pushed the plate of food away finding herself not hungry, "I'm sorry, my angel, but we must go over burial plans."

"You haven't buried him yet?" DG almost yelled. Usually people were buried the day after they died, aren't they?

"Azkadellia and I entrapped him in crystal until you were home. We wanted all three of us there when we say our last goodbyes," she explained and DG lowered her head.

"Where is he?" DG asked.

"The central room," Lavender sighed and knew what DG wanted to do, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I want to talk to him by myself," DG took the fedora off of her head and placed it back on Cain's. She looked up at him, "I know you'll want to walk me to the room, but I-"

"Have some things to say that are only meant for him," Cain nodded, "I understand, kiddo. Come on."

Cain did walk her to the Central Room and did have to admit that her walk didn't look labored and she didn't fumble at all. From what he could see she was just fine and wasn't tired. She was stronger that he thought she would have been. What else could he have expected from a girl who had been dead for a day?

She stopped outside the doors and looked at them as if sizing them up for an attack. A few more deep breaths and she maybe able to actually open them and step inside the room. Cain put a hand of support on the middle of her back. She jumped once again and let out a held breath.

"You don't have to-" Cain started.

"That's just the thing," DG looked back at him, "I do have to. As you said I have some things to say. And I'd much rather that they are said before he is in the ground."

"You still want me to stay out here?"

"I'll call for you if I need you," DG tugged at the front of his vest to straighten it out.

She turned toward the doors and this time stepped through them. In the middle of the room was a small pedestal where the emerald sat. DG noticed the remaining piles of scrolls that Glitch had been through the night before. Even though they were out of place they were stacked in a pile to the side neatly. DG guessed it was one of the things that Ambrose was used to doing.

DG then saw it toward the back window. Just as her mother had said, he was completely surrounded by crystal. She couldn't even find the place where he was stabbed through the crystal. They cleaned him up and put him in royal wear.

"Hey there, dad," she smiled and put a hand on top of the temporary crystal coffin, "Just wanted you to know that I got home. Mother probably already told you, huh? I feel like I'm part of a weird 'snow white' kind of story looking down at you like this…"

She knelt to the floor and placed her back against the large crystal. She wasn't even saying what she wanted to. Maybe Cain and her family were right about her being broken or fragile. They just didn't see that it was emotional. She closed her eyes she felt the tears form and they threatened to fall. She sniffed hard to stop herself, but didn't start soon enough. A few dripped down her cheek and off her chin.

"I got home," she began, "So why don't I feel as happy or relieved as everybody else?"

DG quickly got to her feet and took hold of the emerald. She brought it back over to the crystal coffin of her father's and stared at it, "Why did I get to live and he didn't? We were stabbed by the same blade, weren't we? I came back to life. Why didn't he?"

She got eye level with the emerald, "Why don't you work for him?"

The emerald held no response and provided no answer for her. It stayed perfectly still only gleaming in the soft light. She sighed and sat back against her father again.

"I tried, dad," she mumbled and had a really big urge for some kind of liquor, "I never called you that, did I? Here you were calling me Spitfire, and I treated you so formally. And that's not who I am and that's not who you are to me. You're my father. You were never a stranger in my heart. I'm sorry. I wish I had another chance with you. No offense or anything, but I wish even harder for some kind of alcohol."

She paused and could hear his laughter in her own head. Then she could almost imagine him agreeing with her and acting as if he was ordering a couple of beers from a bar tender.

"I really want to remember more than I do. And what I do remember, I want to experience again," DG kicked at the marble floor. She turned quickly to the emerald again, "Why don't you work, dammit?!"

She leaned over the top of the coffin and saw her reflection sitting right beside his face. She saw them side by side and took a deep breath, "I guess this really is goodbye, isn't it?"

She moved and saw something behind her reflection. Another body was on the side of the room and coming toward her. She knew that it was someone that wasn't supposed to be there since Cain would never let another person go into the room while she was. She lowered her head further and began to shake her shoulders as if she were sobbing. She watched the figure come closer and then a rope fell from their hands. This guy had to be kidding.

As soon as she was in reaching distance DG turned and blasted him with a gust of wind. It blew him to the far wall and then to the floor. DG recognized the uniform and saw that they man was a winkie. More specifically one of Soren's Winkie guards.

"A guard from the tower?" DG asked and held some offensive magic in her hand ready to attack if needed.

"Got your powers back, I see," a voice filtered through the guard's mouth.

"Soren?" DG's eyes widened in surprise, "How? You're supposed to be trapped."

"That I am, but that's the thing about the Slayer of Hearts. You're still part alive," he lunged toward her and she threw the magic at him again. He crumpled to the floor crying pain. He looked up at her as Cain burst through the door, "You won't escape me this way. I will find you again. I will come back as many times as it takes for you to come back to me."

A shot rang out and the guard's body went limp. Cain grabbed DG and turned her toward him, "Are you okay?"

He checked her over and saw the sparks of her magic die down on her fingertips. Her eyes seemed a little blank, yet focused on the now dead guard from Soren's tower, "Sweetheart?"

"That was him," DG whispered and turned to Cain, "Cain- that was Soren."

"But he's stuck in limbo."

"I know, bit I'll never forget his voice. And that was it," she struggled to understand the situation, "He will never leave me alone."

"No, darlin', I promise he will," Cain hugged her close to him and looked at the body feet away, "We need to talk with the rest of the family."

"No kidding," she nodded against him and let him walk her to the sitting room where Azkadellia, Glitch and her mother would be in discussion.

As they made their way through the halls some of the royal guard were running toward them. They had heard Cain's shot and were running to find the cause of it.

"There was an intruder in the palace. His body is in the central room. Have the examiners look it over," Cain ordered.

"Yes, sir," the guards nodded and jogged to the central room.

DG walked into the sitting room and was grateful to find Azkadellia, Glitch and her mother were all there. She looked directly at her mother.

"DG?"

"We still have a big problem," DG started and put her hands on her hips, "And his name is Soren."


	16. Chp 15: We're Off to the Other Side?

**Chapter XV**: We're off… to the other side?

"What?!" Azkadellia whipped her head to her sister, "You can't be serious."

"Serious enough that I'm sure that was him that just attacked me through the body of one of his guards," DG folded her arms over her chest, "Well, he _tried_ to attack me. I used my magic against him and Cain shot him through the head."

"Did you find anymore information on the blade or what happens when someone escapes being stabbed?" Cain walked behind Glitch to read over his shoulder.

"Not much more and you leaning over my shoulder and breathing in my ear isn't going to help it either," Glitch rolled his eyes and pushed Cain away from him and toward DG.

"So what did you find?" DG sat on the small love seat with her mother. Lavender held DG's hands and waited with her.

"All it says is how it is _supposed_ to work," Glitch waved with his hand as if to elaborate, "In DG's case we broke the would-be bond before it even existed. In doing so Soren has no one to find on the other side. Assuming all the facts I would believe that he would be stuck in that limbo for the rest of time."

"That's the problem," DG frowned, "He's not staying there."

"From what you said, it seems like he is working through others to get to you on this side of existence. He will continue to do so. He can't get back to his own body with out finding you on that side, so why not use the body of another to fulfill his goal?" Glitch laid it out as well as he could and leaned back in his chair.

"But how is he using other's bodies?" Azkadellia asked and scanned through another book of magic.

"Everyone falls into a deep sleep if they are exhausted. The kind that takes everything to wake them up from," Glitch thought to himself for a moment, "For example, I was so exhausted putting together my first ball for her majesty and fell asleep in my office for a day and a half. I was almost late for the ball I had worked so hard for. During that time people had come to the door and tried to wake me up and they could not get to me. It was as if I was completely out of my body. Maybe that's where he is sneaking in to other's bodies. He uses the trance of deep sleep as a bridge to reach this side."

"That could be," Cain nodded, "Those guards seemed a little ragged."

"And some probably couldn't sleep for a day or two for fear you may come and kill them in their sleep," Glitch nodded to his friend.

"Very funny, zipper-head."

"I'm serious. The way you were acting, I would be afraid to fall asleep too. If nothing else, I would fear you in my nightmares," Glitch smirked and then turned serious, "Joking aside, we must make plans to protect DG from him. We don't know where or when he will strike at her."

"Or through who," Cain added.

"What about Galdra?" DG asked a little scared for her new friend, "Will he act through her?"

"She has been sent for," Glitch said with a nod of his head, "Your mother sent for her once you were awake. She will be partially safe within the palace."

"No one will be safe anywhere. He will only continue to come over and over until he is stopped," Lavender said with her eyes downcast to the floor.

"I'm afraid so, your majesty," Glitch nodded.

"He told me that he will find me and I will never escape him," DG's eyes glazed for a moment, "He'll keep coming."

"We'll find a way to stop him," Glitch looked at his friend to assure her of her safety, "He won't have you, doll."

"No, he won't," Lavender shook her head and stood up from her seat, "I'm calling a travel storm and sending you to the other side."

"I'm not going to run from him," DG frowned, "I'll admit that I'm frustrated and a little scared, but I'm not a coward. If he wants a fight, a fight he will get every time. But I am not running."

"The only problem with that is that he will be taking control over more people of the O.Z.," Lavender sat back down next to DG, "He will take innocent lives to attack you and to fend him off you will be injuring more innocents. Or worse."

DG paused, "I didn't think of it that way."

"Too many people have died by the hands of a witch," Lavender put a finger under DG's chin to connect with her eyes, "I will not have a mad man kill off my people and then my daughter."

"But what will running to the other side do other than hide me again?" DG asked.

"It will keep you safe," Lavender sighed, "As of now he still has to cross the plane of living and dead to come after you. If you are on the other side then that is just another plane for him to cross. Instead of one, it would be two."

"And I don't think that's possible," Glitch added, "Maybe your mother is right, DG. Just until we get it figured out."

"Of course Cain will go with you," Lavender looked at her body guard.

"Of course," he nodded.

"And so will Azkadellia and Ambrose," Lavender looked at Azkadellia. She opened her mouth to argue, but Lavender put a hand up to stop her, "You are carrying one of the most innocent lives of them all, my 'Dellia. I will not have that ruffian take control over that. And I could not ask for your husband to stay behind."

"Who will research?" Glitch asked with a frown, "I am the best you have, your majesty."

"You are, my dear friend," she nodded, "But your place is at your wife's side. Not mine."

"You're staying here?" DG asked and then shook her head, "You could be targeted."

"I am always a target for murder," she smiled in a chance that it may calm DG, "And I can promise you I am not a heavy sleeper. I never have dreams anymore unless there is something that my magic or the O.Z. wants me to know. He will not catch me. I need to stay behind and make sure that the people do not think we have abandoned them."

Jeb walked into the room, "Excuse the interruption, but they finished the examination of the intruder."

"Already?" Cain narrowed his eyes.

"There wasn't that much to see. He was a normal man, except for the hole in the head," Jeb stated. He turned to Lavender and DG, "Is it true, your majesty? I heard before I came in… Are you sending them to the other side?"

"Yes Captain, I am," she nodded.

"When do they leave?"

"As soon as I conjure a travel storm," Lavender turned to them all, "You will have to leave your things here, or others in the kingdom will know something is wrong."

"I can get supplies on the other side," DG nodded, "Clothes, food, shelter- wait, how's the condition of the farm house?"

"I had sent other men to the other side just in case this situation should arise. The house is fixed and back to its former glory," she smiled, "Will you all have enough room?"

"Well, that depends," DG asked with the tilt of her head, "Are mom and popsicle joining us?"

"Not this time," Lavender shook her head.

"Then Az and Glitch could take their room. It has a bigger bed and a bathroom connected to it," DG nodded, "Cain and I will take my old bedroom. I'm more worried about you staying here by yourself."

"Then I will stay with her. So will Kelly," Jeb stood by the door and waited for a response from the queen.

"Thank you for your offer, Captain. I accept your protection," the queen nodded, "You may come in and talk with your father if you'd like."

"Thank you, your majesty," Jeb walked to his father and gave him a tight hug, "You be careful out there, father. And take care of her."

"I will," Cain patted his son on the back, "You take care of Kelly and the Queen and hold down the palace."

"Yes, sir," he saluted him and turned to DG, "Watch him, will you?"

"Like a hawk," she nodded. Lavender stood, held one of DG's hands and held her other hand out for Azkadellia's. She held both of their hands and kissed their knuckles.

"Be careful, my loves," she whispered and both DG and Azkadellia could feel the magic come off their mother and then wind begin to pick up. Outside the window a large twister roared and thundered, barely touching the balcony outside the sitting room, "You must go."

The girl's nodded and held each other's hands. Their magic light glowed brightly between then and then they held their hands out to Cain and Glitch. They held on to the girls and they all jumped into the twister. DG screamed a little as she was spun away. No matter how magical she and the land of the O.Z. were, she would never get used to the idea of traveling via twister.

Lavender looked out from the balcony as Jeb walked next to her with one hand resting on the top of his sword, "When do you think they'll be back?"

"When the time is right," she turned and walked back into the room, "Now, how much has your father told you about the situation?"

"Not much, your majesty," she shook his head, "But what I gather, not even the palace is safe for the princess."

"No, not even the palace," she shook her head, "Come, I must find my cabinet of advisors and Raw. We have much research and planning to do. Not to mention a new guest is arriving at the castle any time now."

* * *

The twister landed within fifty feet of the old farm house and smack dab next to the already temperamental generator. DG was the first one out of the twister with her hands on her hips and an unsure smile on her face. Cain walked out from behind her with Glitch holding on to Azkadellia at the end of the group. The twister dissipated and floated back into the clouds above their heads.

DG put a hand over her eyes to survey the farm house nearby and the familiar surroundings. She was back in Kansas.

"No place like home," she sighed and patted her hands in front of her to get rid of some dust that had come from the twister.

Cain walked up next to her while Azkadellia and Glitch were too busy trying to get a small lay of the land. He sighed and scanned the immediate area, "So this is where they stuck you, huh?"

"Yeah," DG smiled with a small chuckle, "This is where I grew up. What do you think?"

Cain paused for a moment before a smirk was plastered on his face, "I've seen worse."

Cain began to walk toward the generator which was knocked up a little from the travel storm. DG rolled her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. She could feel another headache a mile away, "Yeah, thanks."

"Are we going to need this pile to work for anything?" Cain looked down at the generator and kicked it lightly in the side.

"Only if you want to have some hot water and maybe some electricity," DG pushed the headache from her mind, pushed Cain a step back and didn't notice the quirk of his eyebrow at the word of electricity. She plugged a few wires back in that the storm had knocked out and turned a small knob toward the front. Suddenly the fan inside began to turn as well as the huge fan at the top.

"Nice work, kid."

"It's what I do," DG looked over at Azkadellia and Glitch who were still unsure of their surroundings, "Az, Glitch? You two going to be okay?"

"I think so," Azkadellia frowned, "There are no forests."

"Nope. Sorry, no forests. This is the middle of the Americas. All flat land," DG looked at the horizon and the sun was beginning to set, "Let's head inside."

The group of four headed into the empty house. DG led the way up the porch and Cain, of course, had to search the house from top to bottom before anyone else could go in. He came back out to the porch and with the nod of his head stated that it was clear.

"We'll need some light soon," he mentioned and looked at DG, "Where are your lanterns and candles?"

"Don't need them," DG shook her head. She bent around the front door and flicked one of the closer light switches that turned on the lights for the small front room.

Both Cain and Glitch stood for a moment before they both stared almost blinded by confusion from the simple bulb. Azkadellia walked in and shut the door behind her. DG locked it after Azkadellia stepped away. Her older sister began to stare at the bulb momentarily before moving on to sit on one of the couches.

"How did you capture sunlight in a bottle without your magic?" Glitch flicked at the bulb.

"I didn't," DG laughed and pulled Cain away from the light before he blinded himself, "You may want to step away, Glitch. That is before you lose your eye sight."

"It will do that to you?" he asked and backed away slightly, "Then why even have it in your home?"

"It will give the same effects as if you were staring at the suns for too long," DG explained.

"Is this part of that 'electricity' you were talking about?" Cain shrugged off his duster as the heater kicked on and blew at his back.

"Yeah," DG nodded and then paused for a moment, "Wait a minute, I thought we had electricity in the O.Z.- I mean we have all those machines. They run on something."

"Most of them are powered by some kind of magic, fire or bare materials from the earth," Glitch explained as he kept tapping on the light bulb in front of him, "Just like the witch had to have the emerald to power her machine."

"Ah," she nodded and then roughly pulled Glitch from the bulb, "But I saw lights just like these in the Realm of the Unwanted."

"They were made with a bright, phosphorescent material from the earth. They are meant to last for annuals at a time. And some say that they even hold sunlight from the suns. That's why I thought you had used your magic on these. They are made differently, aren't they?"

"Yeah, no big earth materials in there. It's all man made. Still, would be better for your eyes if you were away from the bulb."

"That's what that's called?" he tilted his head.

"I'll let you read through some of my old science books. I know they had a few chapters about electricity in there," DG promised him, "Now sit down."

"Is there other marvels that you could show us?" Glitch asked and sat down next to Azkadellia.

"Well, we have the microwave for one, the radio and- Oh, you guys are going to love this," DG smiled and jumped over the other couch to turn the television on, "Welcome to the wonders of the other side."

All three of her companions stared slack jawed at the screen as it came to life and a news program began. Glitch and Cain walked closer to the set. Cain looked at its back and couldn't understand where they pumped the potion into the box- or how the liquid was staying in it. Glitch looked at the glass screen and then began to poke at it.

Azkadellia smiled a little and looked at DG, "It's a form of seer's potion. Like the alchemist had in the tower."

"Nope, more electricity and waves of some sort," DG shrugged and couldn't get over how Glitch had the need to tap everything that was new to him on this side. She took both guys by the collar and pulled them back. She sat Glitch back by her sister and then Cain by her on the other couch, "It's mainly used for entertainment purposes, but it is also used as a way for us to know what's happening around the world or locally."

"Entertainment?" Azkadellia asked.

"Instead of going to a theatre or a playhouse, you could watch different programs or shows on the screen just by changing the channel," DG picked up the remote and changed the channel quickly to a cartoon show, "See?"

"The drawn pictures move," Glitch smiled, "Brilliant."

DG laughed and shook her head.

"You never cease to amaze me," Cain put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

"It's another talent I am superb at," she put her head on his shoulder.

"We should probably figure out sleeping arrangements," Cain mentioned to her and she nodded her head.

"Okay," she turned off the television with the remote and stood up, "Az, Glitch, you two will be sleeping down stairs in the main bedroom."

She walked down the short hall and into the master bedroom where the old, large bed still sat, "There's a bathroom on the right side just in case you need it."

"And what about you?" Azkadellia asked and sat on the bed as Glitch flicked on the lights. He smiled proudly at himself and his accomplishment.

"There's another bathroom in the middle of the hall way," DG pointed her thumb backwards.

"I meant where will you sleep?"

"Up stairs in my old room," she tilted her eyes straight up, "It has a good amount of space up there and I can probably do something with the bed with my newly found magic."

"When does the first sun rise?" Azkadellia asked as she tried to untie her boot. Glitch came around the bed and took it off for her and then continued with the next one. Once her job was taken over for her she looked to DG for an answer.

"There is only one sun here," DG took in the look of shock from her sister, "It usually raises about seven or so in the morning."

"I thought that the first one had already set when we arrived," Azkadellia explained why she still had thought there were two suns.

"Nope, just one lonely sun, the same with the moon," DG nodded and noticed Glitch trying to get his jacket off and put it neatly on the side desk, "We'll have to get some clothes tomorrow."

"With what? We don't have any currency for this place unless they accept platinum," Cain asked from behind her.

"I have some of my savings stored under the house. They should still be there," DG motioned her eyes to the floor, "And I should still have a savings account in the bank… unless they think I'm dead. Let's hope that's not the case."

"So it's our first day adventuring out into the other side world," Glitch leaned back on the bed and cushioned his head with his interlocked fingers, "What wonders will we see?"

"It'll be a culture shock, I'm sure," DG began to close the door, "Sleep well you two. And don't forget to turn out the light. It won't go out on it's own like a candle."

"Good night, DG," Azkadellia called to her before she closed the door and walked back down to Cain who was already half way to the front room again.

"Alright, Tin Man. Time for bed," DG turned off the light to the front room and began to climb the stairs to her room. There she found everything as it was when she left. Who ever her mother got to clean up the mess did a very good job. She looked at the drawings of Central City and the brick route that she did when she was younger and apparently knew nothing of the O.Z.

Cain looked around the room as he shed his vest and rolled up his sleeves of his shirt. Every once in a while she could hear him grunt in approval at some of the paintings in the corners. Those were mostly of Central City, Finaqua and the Ice Palace and were drawn with greater detail.

She quickly turned to her bed and knew that both of them on her small bed would be a tight squeeze- not that she would mind being squashed up to Wyatt Cain. They had no idea how long they were going to be here and she thought that they both would enjoy the extra room. She placed both her hands out in front of her and then slowly slid them apart to stretch out the bed into a queen sized mattress.

"How did I never live without my magic?" she whispered to herself.

"Sometimes I ask the same thing about you," Cain said from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "What was that you said to me about making it worth my while?"


	17. Chp 16: Worth Your While

**Chapter XVI**: Worth Your While

"Why, what ever could you mean, Mister Cain?" DG asked with an innocent face as she turned in his arms to face him, "I thought that in my present condition I was too fragile for any such 'activities'. Much less making anyone's while."

He growled at her and leaned down to kiss her along her neck and chest, "And here I thought you said that you weren't fragile."

DG closed her eyes and moaned from the kisses on her neck.

Then Cain immediately stopped and nearly dropped her where she stood. She caught herself on the edge of the bed before she reached the floor below her with an ungraceful plop, "I guess I was wrong."

"Oh, that is just plain wrong," she narrowed her eyes at the back of Cain as he took off his hat and placed it over his vest, "That is not fair to tease like that."

"What? I thought you said that you were better and here you are acting like you aren't," he crossed his arms over his chest and looked directly at her, "Like it or not princess, you have got to stop mixing signals up. One day you're one way and the next you're another. A guy could go crazy trying to figure you out."

"Well, know it or not, my dear fiancé, that's not the way I want to drive you crazy," she walked up to him, uncrossed his arms from the front of him and wrapped them around herself. She slowly licked and nibbled up his neck and to his ear where she gently sucked on his earlobe. She stopped suddenly at the sound of his moan and whispered in his ear, "I have other ways to come to that end."

"Oh, don't I know that for a fact," he nodded and she felt his arms tighten around her waist and then move her hips.

"Think I'm too fragile now?" she whispered and blew on the wet spots that she left behind on his ear.

"No doubt in my mind that you aren't."

Without hesitation he pulled her feet off the ground and supported her weight by her back side. He had her against one of her walls and kissed her furiously while he worked on her shirt. She wrapped her legs tightly around him and smiled against his mouth on hers. Her hands quickly worked their way down from his shoulder to the buttons on his shirt. She buttoned it down far enough where her hands slid inside and she ran them over his chest muscles.

He leaned back from her and grabbed both of her hands in his. He looked at their hands and then into her eyes. She squinted her eyes at him and he leaned his forehead against hers. She could feel how strained his breathing was and judging from the feeling she was getting through both their pants, he was ready. But something was holding him back.

"Wyatt?" she asked in a rushed whisper, "What's wrong?"

"Tonight is slow," he told her in a deeper voice than he usually used and locked her eyes into place with his own, "I know you're not fragile. And I know you can handle a lot, just like me. But there's one thing that I just can't forget right now."

"What's that?" DG asked and cupped one of his cheeks with her right hand.

"That this was impossible to even think about three days ago," he pressed a kiss to her palm and then to her lips again. She furrowed her brows in confusion and he stepped away from the wall, with her still wrapped around him. He sat on the edge of the bed with DG still attached to his lap. She waited until he was ready to talk and after a sigh he explained it to her, "After I got off of that horse at Finaqua and handed you over, I knew that I was never going to hold you in my arms again. I knew I was never going to kiss you again. I knew that you were never going to be my wife. I _**knew**_ these things, DG."

She finally understood, "But I'm not dead. You brought me back. Never think of impossible, Wyatt. We're better than impossible. And if it means coming back to you, I will cross that line every time and in every way."

"You didn't think that you were going to make it either, did you?" he asked her, but looked away.

"What do you mean?"

"When I held you at the top of that castle in Winkieland and you opened your eyes and saw me. You said my name and then 'I love you'," he recounted and closed his eyes to shut out the mental picture of her on the ground, covered in her own blood and Soren lying by her feet, "You were saying your goodbye to me then. Your last words."

DG sighed and pulled his face back to her again, "Look me in the eyes. I am back in your arms now. Yes, I did think that I was dying and I wanted you to know that I still loved you. I didn't want you to blame yourself and that was all I could manage to say. I wanted you to know those things before they were too late to say."

"You knew it was the last time we would be able to talk to one another. Just like I knew I would never see your eyes or hear your laugh again," he shook his head, "It's just beyond belief to think that just days ago you and I knew so much. I keep thinking that you coming back from death is a dream and I will wake back up into my nightmare. I keep thinking that all this is impossible and I'm going to wake up without you beside me."

"This is not a dream, I'm not going anywhere," she shook her head with a smile and laid her head on his shoulder. Her breath was hot on his neck and her nose gently skimmed his skin, "I am always going to wake up next to you. And if this is impossible, then I don't ever want the possible."

He hugged her closer to him and buried the bottom half of his face into her hair, "Neither do I, kiddo."

"You feel a little better?" she asked and picked her head up from his shoulder, "Getting that off your chest and into the good, old Kansas air?"

"I feel much better," he nodded and put his hands on her hips to balance her on his lap.

"Are we still in need of a silencing charm?" she asked with an eyebrow raised and a finger in the air, slightly lit with magic.

"Considering you still owe me and your sister and brother-in-law are right below us, I think it may be a good idea," he kissed her with a smile.

She flicked her finger with the magic and a silencing spell was cast around the whole room, including the floor. She didn't know how much noise her old bed made against the floor, but she didn't want to risk it with a bigger bed and what she wanted to use it for now.

He leaned back on the bed and pulled her with him. He rolled over on top of her and pushed her back into her bed as their tongues began to play. Hands wondered once again and the shirts were stripped off as were the pants and underwear. As he had said in the beginning, it was taken slowly. But in the way that Wyatt Cain made love, slow was never a bad thing in DG's book.

He took his time and kissed down her jaw and neck to her chest where he paid special attention to her breasts. His hands massaged her hips and legs before moving to her inner thighs and then slowly into her opening. One arm stayed steady by her head to hold himself up, while the other set to work to make her moan louder. Her legs involuntarily wrapped around him again and she ground her hips up against his hand.

"Wyatt," she panted and was barely able to get her hands to wrap around his hand and pull him away. He came away from her breasts and looked down at her in a bit of confusion. She smiled up at him and then carefully grabbed a hold of his member. He grunted as his forehead fell to her shoulder and his hips bucked against her hands. She turned her head to whisper into his ear, "I wanted to make this worth your while, remember? So let me take care of you."

He growled against her shoulder and lightly nipped at it as she began to gently stroke him. One of her hands stayed where it was, gently moving back and forth, while the other moved a little lower for a massage he never had before.

"Gods, DG," he hissed into her ear and bucked once again into her hand.

"You wanted this slow tonight," she said soothingly, "So, we're taking it slow."

He felt himself close to his edge and he didn't want to release all over her, "DG, it… so close, darlin'."

She nodded and took her hands from him. He sighed in both disappointment and relief. He didn't know how much more he could have taken. Then DG pushed at him and turned them over to where he was on the bottom and she was on top. He looked up at her still trying to catch his breath when she leaned down and kissed from his lips, down to his stomach.

"DG…"

She kissed him again on the lips and carefully slid herself onto him. They both moaned as he trusted into her once he knew what she was doing. Their lips disconnected as she began to pant with every thrust and push that they made. Her voice softly called his name in response to the moans falling from his lips. She leaned up and pushed herself back down toward him, only to drive him deeper into her center.

He held on to her hips and brought her down harder, but was still careful and in control of his mind enough not to hurt her. She supported herself by putting her hands on his chest or shoulders. She kept pushing harder and faster on to him and he knew that they were both near the end point. He turned them over again and buried himself into her. She grabbed his shoulders and held on tightly as he drove into her.

"I- I thought… you wanted… slow," she reminded him in between her moans.

"I needed you," he replied and drove into her one last time. Her walls contracted and he released deep inside of her. They both reached their climaxes simultaneously and cried out one another's names. Cain collapsed next to DG and rolled to his side. She curled up next to him as he pulled some of the sheets out from under them. She placed her head right beneath his chin and breathed a contented sigh.

"So, tell me, cowboy," she asked with a yawn, "Did I do it?"

"Do what, princess?" he asked while he lightly traced his fingertips over the skin of her back and pushed his chin lightly into her hair.

"Make it worth your while?" she smirked and heard the rumble of a laugh in his chest.

"You sure did," he answered, "And so much more."

"Good," she put a leg over one of his under the blankets and fell asleep quickly with a smile on her face. He stayed in thought for a little while after she fell asleep.

He looked out the small window looking out to the East. The moon as still bright outside and so were the stars. So many different things he knew couldn't be are and things that couldn't have been could still be. With every odd against them, they still proved that they could beat any situation. They've defeated a witch- twice. And he's come back from death- now so has she.

He just hoped that their luck didn't run out any time soon.

As he held his princess to him he had to agree with her.

He loved the impossible.

* * *

The next morning DG cracked one eye open while the other was distracted by the sunlight. She groaned and buried her face into Cain's shoulder and chest. He was laying on his back, resting peacefully, while she was curled up to his side, her head on his shoulder and her leg still wrapped around one of his. His arms tightened around her briefly before resting them around her again. This told her one of two things. Either he wasn't really sleeping or she woke him up with her groan. Either way she prayed that they could both fall back to sleep.

"Deeg?" Azkadellia knocked on the door, "Deeg, we were wondering if there was anything to eat."

"More like you were wondering," Glitch was heard from behind her. Immediately afterward DG heard Glitch let out an 'ouch' and then someone limp down the stairs.

"I love my sister, but I swear if she doesn't deliver that baby soon I will kill her. Once it interrupts you and me time, I don't care how hungry she is," DG groaned and heard Cain laugh under her cheek.

"Come on, kiddo," he rubbed the side of her arm, "Breakfast would probably be a good thing before we head out to acclimate ourselves to this side."

DG waved her hand to lower the silencing spell and yelled to the door, "We'll be down in a minute, Az."

"Down in a minute is not going to cut it, little sister," Azkadellia opened the door, now that she knew they were awake, and walked in. DG pulled the covers over herself and Cain and frowned at Azkadellia once they made eye contact. Azkadellia immediately turned around and walked back toward the door, "Or you can take all the time you need to get yourselves ready."

"Yeah, thanks, Az," DG groaned and shut the door to her bedroom with a small gust of wind.

She walked to the small dresser that was still filled with clothing that she remembered shopping for and buying with her own money. She shoved on one of her old shirts and noticed that her breasts seemed a little tender, but that could be from a few things. Her period was coming up and she always grew a little tender, and Cain was_ very_ good with her last night. She held the front of herself before she put on another pair of her thongs.

"You have more than one pair?" Cain looked at her as she looked through her pairs of jeans.

She smiled back at him, "Yeah, you didn't think that I wore the pair I did to the O.Z. by accident, did you?"

Cain shook his head as he shoved on his pants and shrugged on his shirt, "I knew from the moment I met you that you would be the death of me."

"The moment you met me all you wanted to do was get me to leave you alone," DG climbed into a pair of jeans.

"What did you think the reason for that was?" he laughed. She frowned back at him and tried to snap the button on the front of jeans, but then let them stay open.

"Dang Ozian food," DG huffed and grabbed one of her larger pairs of jeans.

Cain looked back at her after he buttoned the rest of his shirt up, "What about it?"

"I don't even fit in my favorite pair of jeans from high school anymore," DG pouted.

"Didn't you finish your school over four years ago?" he reminded her.

"Yeah, but I still fit into them before I got thrown back into the O.Z.," she sighed and threw them to the side onto another pile of clothes she had in another corner, "I guess the cooks are better than I had thought. I didn't think I gained that much weight."

Cain reached for his vest and holster when DG caught his hand. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

"Stop where you are, cowboy," she shook her head, "The pants and the shirt will have to do for now."

"I am not leaving here without my holster and weapon," he leaned down and said it slowly so she would get the message.

"Then the law enforcement on this side is going to have a field day with you," DG stared right back at him, "Carrying a gun around a small town like this isn't exactly the definition of 'laying low'. Don't worry, Tin Man. Nothing is going to jump out at us. I promise."

"Can't you make it invisible or something?" he asked as she drew his hand further from the weapon.

"I can't, and I won't," she shook her head, "The last thing I need is you shooting some innocent. I'm not a princess here, remember? No one is going to be asking me for my autograph. If it is just like I left it, they won't even pay attention to us… well, not much attention if the other two behave. Come on."

As soon as shoes were shoved on feet, DG led Cain down the stairs and into the kitchen where her sister and Glitch sat anxiously. Azkadellia sat in one of her day gowns while Glitch had put on one of his more subdued shirts and his black pants and boots. DG sighed and shook her head. This was going to be a major problem. Glitch she could probably pull off as him being an eccentric, but her sister was an entirely different story.

"I told you to wear low key clothes," she looked at her sister who looked at herself and then back up at DG.

"This is one of my most subdued gowns," she defended, "And I didn't really have anytime to plan if you recall."

"Come on, Az," DG grabbed her sister's hand and then walked toward her parent's old room.

"What about me, Doll?" Glitch stood and turned around for her.

"It will have to do until we go shopping," DG shrugged and pulled Azkadellia after her. She closed the door behind them and Cain sat down at the dining table with Glitch right next to him.

"So…" Glitch looked at the ceiling and caught sight of another light bulb and immediately reminded himself to ask DG about her text books later. He quickly looked to Cain and tapped his fingertips on the table.

"What's on your mind now, Glitch?" Cain asked and tilted his hat over his eyes to hide his amusement from his friend.

"I was just wondering- well," he paused and scratched the underside of his chin, "Azkadee told me she walked in on you two this morning… I was just wondering, how did we not hear you two when you right above us?"

Cain would have been sputtering if he was drinking something. He cleared his throat and turned to him while he adjusted his already loose collar, "Excuse me?"

"Just a question," Glitch put up his hands in his defense, "Don't answer if you don't want to."

Cain took a deep breath and pinched the ridge of his nose before he leaned toward Glitch, "Ask Az if she knows any silencing charms."

"Is that it?" Glitch asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Believe me," Cain nodded, "It's worth trying."


	18. Chp 17: Old Feelings

**Chapter XVII**: Old Feelings

After a half hour of deliberations on clothing DG and Azkadellia finally walked out from the back bedroom. DG was wearing the same thing from earlier, since she had no need to change, while Azkadellia came out of the room with a pout. She was wearing a snug, white spaghetti strap under a very large and heavy plaid work shirt that once belonged to Hank. Underneath she wore a pair of jeans that also belonged to Hank that just fit her in her pregnant condition. Cain had to stifle a laugh and looked away just as Glitch looked at her.

"I give you the Kansas-fied Azkadellia," DG waved her hand at her sister and stood right next to Cain who put a hand on her waist, "Well, at least the best I could do with what I had."

Glitch looked at his wife as she pouted and trudged to him. She didn't look up at him and actually tried to look away as she reached him, "Well?"

Glitch smirked and then opened his arms to take Azkadellia in a hug. He kissed her forehead and looked down into her eyes, "You look amazingly beautiful."

Azkadellia smiled genuinely at her husband and hugged him tighter.

"Aw," DG cooed and hit Cain in the chest, "Isn't that the most adorable thing ever?"

"And the best cover," Cain whispered to himself. Apparently it reached DG's ears since she hit him harder in the arm. He chuckled and rubbed his arm, "So what are paying with to get new clothes?"

"Oh," DG snapped her fingers and headed to the front room. She went to the far corner near the television, moved one of the fake, indoor trees and knocked on some of the floorboards. DG knocked on two more until she found her loose floorboard. She smiled and pried it up to pick up a small tin box and place it on the floor, "Gotcha'."

"Good hiding place," Cain remarked, "How much you have hidden away in there?"

"It's been a while since I've touched this stash," DG explained and began to count fast, "About three hundred dollars. Huh, I thought I had less. But it's all good, that just means that we get to shop a little more. And we can pick up some food on the way back."

DG pocketed the money and walked out the front door, and locked it with the key that was under the mat. She dropped the key in her pocket and turned to the vehicles that had been spared by the twister. She stood on the porch for a moment to look over the possibilities and then huffed.

"What's wrong now, DG?" Azkadellia asked and rubbed the top of her stomach.

"I'm trying to figure out how to get to town," she frowned and pointed to the two modes of transportation, "I have a license to drive both, but I know I can't take you all on my bike so that's out as far as a choice. All we have left is the truck, but I can only fit two in the front comfortably."

"Then a couple of us will stay behind," Glitch offered and put his chin on Azkadellia's shoulder.

"Not an option," DG shook her head, "If we got to stay her for a while then I got to get you all looking the part. And I'm not good at guessing sizes. That's why I was a waitress and not working in a clothing store."

"Then I can drive, you and Azkadellia could sit in the cabin with me and Glitch could sit in the back," Cain said and adjusted his sleeves.

"Two problems with that," DG held up two fingers to Cain, "One- it's a bit cramped with a pregnant lady in the front. I know- I had to drive one of my older friends to the emergency room, with five others in the back yelling at me to go faster during high school. I said I could fit two in the front. That includes the driver. And two- no one is driving that truck but me."

"Princess-" Cain tried to argue.

"I am not a princess here, Cain," she poked him in the chest, "And people are going to wonder why I'm not driving my dad's truck and a perfect stranger is. We don't need more questions than necessary."

"I thought you said people ignored you here."

"They used to, but you never know in a small town," she tapped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest for him to take the information in. He sighed and she smiled.

"Then you and Azkadellia take the cabin of the truck, Glitch and I will ride in the back," Cain said and grabbed Glitch by the collar, "Come on, zipper-head."

DG shook her head; of course Cain would take the easy, yet unlawful, solution to the problem on the second try. She sighed as she opened the door for her sister, "I just hope that Gulch isn't on duty today."

DG settled into the driver's seat and turned the truck on with a leftover key behind the visor as Cain tapped on the glass of the back window. DG opened the window and looked back at him, "Yeah?"

"You sure you know how to drive this thing?" he asked and held to the side of the bed and propped his foot on the wheel well.

"Of course I do," she smirked and put it into gear, "I've just been out of practice."

"That's reassuring," Azkadellia buckled her seatbelt like DG had done with hers and they were down the road. As they passed by nothing but crops Azkadellia yearned for some conversation. Cain had kept silent and watched the road kick up with swirls of dust behind him while Glitch took notice of the little things that followed along the road like telephone poles and small mailboxes. DG seemed content just to drive. Being cooped up in the palace and then trotting around the O.Z. on foot must have bored her.

"What's a Gulch?" she asked DG.

"What?" DG furrowed her brows and looked at her sister quickly before she looked back at the road.

"You said that you hoped that Gulch wasn't on duty," Azkadellia reminded her, "What- or who may I ask is Gulch?"

"He's like a Tin Man on this side- a cop," DG explained and noticed that Cain turned his head to listen to their conversation, "He and I used to get into some pretty good debates over the seed limit on this road."

"Did you ever win?" Azkadellia asked with a smile.

"Logically, yes," DG nodded, "Lawfully, no."

"Sounds like most of your arguments," Cain threw in and DG smirked before she closed the window to the bed of the truck. She still heard Cain and Glitch's laugh through the glass.

"Was he something of an interest?" Azkadellia asked and poked DG in the side.

"He was, until I noticed all Elmer Gulch was interested in was making sure my bike went under 45 miles per hour," DG frowned, "And then he just became a pain."

When they got into town DG parked in front of a small row of shops a couple of streets down from the old diner. As the small group piled out of the truck DG surveyed the small area. It was just as she remembered. Jenny's clothes shop was at one end of the walkway, with hunting shop in the middle and the large grocery store at the end.

"Okay, let's find you guys some clothes and then something to eat," DG then paused and smelled something good in the air, "On second thought, let's catch breakfast and then go shopping."

DG took hold of Cain's hand and the small group went over to a small food place on the corner across the street from where she parked. She ordered some waffles and some fruit while Azkadellia ordered the same. Glitch and Cain were a little concerned how the food took so little to fix, but ordered some breakfast burritos from DG's suggestion. After the quick stop and a semi-full sotmach, DG nodded back over at Jenny's, "Now, we're off to find some new clothes."

Azkadellia and Glitch walked toward the store while something held Cain back for a moment. He looked in the front windows of the hunting store and looked at all the different firearms and knives. He pointed at the window and then looked at DG. She shook her head and grabbed him by the arm, "Don't even think about it, Tin Man."

Thankfully Cain and DG looked normal enough not to draw too much attention. Azkadellia seemed a little off, but that's because DG had to throw something on her. Glitch was the odd man out. As soon as they walked in the door, DG pointed out the men's section and pushed both Cain and Glitch to that side.

"What are we getting?" Glitch asked a little nervous.

"Let Cain do most of the picking," DG looked over Cain, "As far as the shirts, anyway. A lot of button ups and t-shirts, like mine. And then grab some jeans that fit well."

Both guys looked down at her pant leg that she pulled at, "And make sure they don't fit tight like mine- unless it fits tight in the rump then it's a good fit you, Cain."

He smirked and pulled Glitch with him toward the men's section. DG thought for a moment and then called after them, "Be sure to try everything on in the fitting rooms!"

"And where are we going?" Azkadellia asked DG and put an arm through hers. DG led her to the 'mother-to-be' section.

"At least you won't be stuck in Popsicle's clothes," DG sighed.

Azkadellia liked a good portion of the dresses in the section enough to buy them. They weren't the silk that she was used to, but at least they were dresses. DG also got her a few sleeping pants and comfortable shirts. She brought the things she picked to the counter and looked toward the back for the boys.

"Where did they go?" she asked at Azkadellia who shrugged her shoulders.

"Right here," Cain said from behind them both. They both jumped a little and DG hit him in the shoulder.

"Don't sneak up on us like that," DG frowned and he set his clothing choices on the counter. Glitch put his things down as well as DG turned to Cain, "Where did you two go anyway?"

"Fitting rooms," Cain answered, "As Glitch and I took turns you two lost track of us. I noticed after you went to the bathroom for the third time. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just needed to go and Az is pregnant, so that explains enough- Wait, you took turns?" DG looked back at the row of dressing rooms, "You know you could have done it at the same time."

"And leave you two out of sight for too long, I don't think so," he shook his head.

DG rolled her eyes and looked at the woman behind the register. The woman looked at the strange group and then began to scan the price tags faster. DG cringed. Great, they've scared the worker at Jenny's. So much for laying low.

DG put the bags of clothing in the front of the truck, locked it back up and then they took off for the grocery store. Both DG and Azkadellia grabbed a cart and pushed them along the aisles. DG had the job of describing nearly everything to the other three and started to get a headache again. She looked over her shoulder were Glitch was about to bite into a lemon.

"Glitch!" she shouted at him and he stopped in mid bite. She gestured him to put it down, "That's not a Papay fruit and believe me, it doesn't taste like one either."

"DG?" a voice from the end of the aisle floated over to her. DG turned to the voice and smiled brightly.

"Tiff, is that you?!" she yelled and ran to a woman still standing at the end of the aisle. The woman was about DG's age if not a little older. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes with the same style of clothes that DG had. After Tiff appeared about three other people showed up around the same age group. One blonde female and two males one with black hair and the other had a Mohawk, dyed different colors.

"Cecilia," DG hugged the blonde girl and then turned to the young man with the Mohawk with a grin, "How's it hanging, Diesel?"

"It's doing good," he answered and shook her hand as he patted her on the back. He wasn't the kind for hearty hugs, no matter how much he liked the person.

DG then turned to the last in the group and stopped herself from hugging him and her smile faded, "Jared… I thought that you'd be out of here by now."

"Is that why you decided to come back?" he asked with a frown and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Jer!" Tiff frowned at him and smiled back at DG, "So where've you been? We all thought that you were blown away in that twister that hit your house."

"Yeah, it kind of felt like that," DG smiled and rubbed the back of her head. She followed her old friend's eyes back to Cain, Glitch and Azkadellia still standing by the two baskets, piled with food, "Oh! I need to introduce you guys."

She dragged her old friends to the small group and pulled Azkadellia forward first, "Now, I know I've been gone for a little while, but what you didn't know was that I went to find my family."

"Your family?" Jared asked with a scowl.

"Yeah, you know those things that are usually made up of a mommy and a daddy and their offspring?" Diesel rubbed the top of Jared's head with a laugh.

"Yeah, the night the twister hit my mom and dad decided to tell me that I was adopted," DG lied through her teeth, but it rang with semi-truth, "Anyway, I found my real parents and found out I have a sister. Guys… this is my sister, Azkadellia. Az, this is the group I used to hang out with in high school and who were stuck here afterwards. Tiff, Cecilia, Diesel and Jared."

"Pleasure to meet you all," Azkadellia nodded her head to them, "Now I can see where my sister's outgoing personality stems from."

"You have no idea," Tiff laughed and pointed to Azkadellia's outfit, "Short on clothes?"

"Her luggage was lost on the plan ride here. I had to give her some of my dad's and mom's old clothes left over at the farm house," DG covered for her, "She wanted to see where I grew up and came down with me."

"And what about your parents?" Cecilia asked a bit excited about gossip.

"My real mom had to stay behind. Az and my real father just recently died," DG looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry, DG," Cecilia stroked the side of DG's arm.

"Hi! I'm Glitch," Glitch stepped forward to break the sad mood before it began and put a hand on Azkadellia's shoulder, "I'm Azkadellia's husband. I got to come along for the ride. Good to meet friends of our doll, DG."

"Doll?" Jared huffed and leaned against the side of one of the aisles, "What kind of name is Glitch?"

"Probably along the same line of Diesel," Diesel jabbed him in the side, "Back off, man. They're friends of D's. They're cool."

DG smiled at Diesel. He may be a bit out there, but he always came through for her.

Cecilia and Tiff both looked behind DG and giggled. Tiff licked her lips and smiled wider at DG, "And who's the nice side of hunk there behind you, DG?"

Cain walked up from behind DG and bowed to both girls. He even went so far as to shake their hand in such a way that made them both melt a bit in the knees, "My name is Wyatt Cain. I-"

"Am trying too hard?" Jared finished for him.

"Actually I think he was about to say that he's my fiancé," DG held up her ring for the group to see.

"No way!" Tiff and Cecilia jumped at the ring and awed as Cain held DG by the waist and tucked her in beside him with a small grin, "I can't believe it. Our little DG… engaged!"

"I'm older than Cecilia, don't act like I'm a kid," she nudged Cain in the side a little, "I get enough of that from him."

"Yeah, he looks old enough to be your dad," Jared butted in.

"Jared! What's wrong with you?" Tiff hissed back at her friend.

"She shows up out of no where without any word for a month and you all welcome her with open arms?" Jared asked and pointed to DG, "And suddenly she has a whole new family and is engaged. Isn't that a bit off? Or is it just me?"

"Is it that she hasn't been back or the fact that she's engaged throws you off?" Cain asked from beside DG. He felt her tense and fist her hands while the young man kept going off.

"I just don't get why she chose an old timer instead of someone her own age," Jared stepped closer to Cain as Cain put DG behind him a little in a protective measure, "I mean, how old are you, really? I'm guessing somewhere over forty-five?"

"I'm thirty-three, not that it really is any of your business," Cain narrowed his eyes.

"He's looking good for being in his thirties," Cecilia whispered to Tiff who nodded. DG did the math in her head and nodded to herself. When he counted the eight years he spent in the Iron Maiden he would be around forty or forty-one. But if he didn't count them, like she never did, he was more around thirty-three range.

"And you're going after a twenty-two year old?" Jared laughed sarcastically and pointed at the light bar of skin around Cain's finger, "What, your wife didn't cut it for you anymore?"

DG stepped up before Cain could move and punched Jared to the floor, "Don't you ever talk about Wyatt or Adora like that!"

"Adora?" Tiff asked out loud and looked at Glitch and Azkadellia who had moved next to the rest of the group.

"Cain's first wife," Glitch explained, "She was murdered eight annuals ago."

"Annuals?"

"Years!" he corrected himself and thought quickly, "Sorry, my mind was on an annual fair back home."

"That's horrible," Cecilia gasped and put her hands in front of her face, "He's a widower."

Cain pulled DG off of Jared and pinned her arms at her sides so she wouldn't be able to hit him again. That didn't stop her from trying to kick, though. He finally held her tight to him, leaned down and whispered in her ear. She stopped fighting and nodded at him. He set her down, but kept his arms around her.

"You got her trained too, huh?" Jared asked as he got off of the floor.

"Jer, that's enough, man!" Diesel yelled at him.

"I don't need any more of this, I'm out of here," he shook his head and wiped at his bloody lip on his way out.

"You okay?" Cain asked DG.

"He had no right to judge you like that," DG growled and Cain kissed her on top of her head, "Or mention Adora."

"We're sorry about Jer," Tiff managed, "I don't know what got into him."

"I guess he's still sore with me," DG sighed, "And the way I dumped him. It wasn't cool to dump a guy one day at the diner and then leave in a hurry out of town two days after."

"At least I can see why you did," Cecilia looked down the aisle that Jared left down, "How long are you going to be in town?"

"Until I get a call from Az's and my mother," DG explained, "My 'adopted' parents are helping her with the set up. She didn't want the whole event to bring Az and my reunion down. So this kind of doubles as a mini-vacation."

"Well, don't be a stranger while you're here. We still hang out in our old spot," Tiff reminded her and gave her a hug. She whispered into her ear, "You got a good one now. Don't let him go."

"I know," DG nodded and her friends went off to buy what they needed to. She put a hand to her head as it spun a little. Cain put a hand to the small of her back. She looked up at him, "I'm okay. Let's get the milk and eggs and get back home."

They piled the clothes and the groceries in the back of the truck with Glitch and Cain and Azkadellia and DG got in the cabin of the old truck. As she pulled out, DG saw Jared watching from the end of the row of shops. And so did Cain and Glitch.

DG opened the little window to the back, "Don't worry about it, guys. He's not worth it."

Cain settled into his spot in the bed of the truck and they were back down the road to the farm house.


	19. Chp 18: Symptoms

**Chapter XVIII**: Symptoms

As soon as they got back to the farm house DG told them where to put the bags and rushed to the bathroom. Cain grabbed his bag of clothes from Azkadellia and walked to the closed bathroom door. He heard DG on the other side. It sounded like she was vomiting. He didn't think that the Jared character got to her that badly, but he was wrong. He knocked on the door and after a moment she opened it with a smile.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" he asked.

"Something didn't sit well with me is all," she rubbed her stomach and looked at the bag in his hand, "Let's see what you got."

"Let's go help with the food first," he pushed her along the hall since he knew she wasn't going to talk about it. The food was put away quickly and Glitch was surprised to find a small bulb in the refrigerator- not that the refrigerator wasn't a marvel in itself. All they had were cold freezer rooms at the palace. DG dug out her old text books and let him read through them while DG and Azkadellia went over what the guys bought for themselves on the floor of the front room. DG kind of hoped that Glitch could invent a type of electricity at Finaqua so she could bring her DVDs and CDs back.

"I'm proud of you boys, you did very well," DG smiled at the clothing choices. Her brother in law and fiancé won't stand out in the crowd and that's what they need at the moment. She turned to Cain and threw a pair of his new jeans at him, "Try them on."

"I did at the store," he threw them back at her.

"Not for me," she threw them back. She saw his arm move as if he was going to throw them at her again and she held up her hand, "I swear to God, Wyatt Cain, if you throw them back at me I will sweep up a wind that will slap them right back into that pretty face of yours."

His eyebrows shot up, "Really, princess?"

"You want to try me?" she asked and wiggled her fingers at him. He sighed and got up to put them on in the bathroom. DG smiled to herself and folded the rest of his clothes back into the bag until she could put them in the dresser upstairs.

Azkadellia laughed and held her stomach as Glitch chuckled and kept his nose in the text book, "I never knew a Tin Man who would take orders like that."

"Yeah, well get used to it, sister," DG laughed a long with her.

"There is something puzzling me," Glitch suddenly said as he lowered the book, "You're friends had said that you've only been gone for a month."

"I know, I caught that too," DG nodded and thought out loud, "I've been gone for at least- what? Seven or eight months?"

"Maybe there is a time flow difference," Cain suggested as he came from the bathroom. DG looked up and then down his lower half. She spun her finger in a small circle to tell him to turn which he did. She saw his backside and was pleased. He turned to face her and held his hands out to his sides, "Well?"

"Perfect," DG smiled. Cain sat back down next to her on the floor.

"Cain may have something there," Glitch nodded, "Didn't you say something about Dorothy after you met her DG?"

"Yeah, she looked like she grew up in the early nineteen hundreds," DG nodded, "But that's only a hundred years back from now."

"And she's your greatest grandmother in the O.Z.," Glitch finished for her, "Maybe time flows faster in the O.Z. then it does here. So a month here may be seven or eight in the O.Z. Maybe more."

"So the longer we stay here, even more time passes there," DG looked at Azkadellia who looked worried.

"Don't worry, Doll," Glitch tried to reassure her, "Your mother will have everything figured out before too much time has passed."

"I hope so. I just- Ah!" she gripped at her chest and leaned forward.

"DG?" Cain swung his legs to position himself in front of her and held her shoulders, "Talk to me, sweetheart. What's wrong?"

The tattoo on her chest began to glow again and she held her hands over it, "It- it feels like I'm being stabbed…"

Cain grabbed both of her hands in his and she looked up at him with pain written on her face even though she was trying to fight through it. His expressions matched hers and he tried to focus her eyes on his, "Work through it, DG. What do I do? Tell me what I need to do to help you."

"I don't know," she closed her eyes against the pain and pushed her head into his chest as she leaned forward, "It hurts."

"DG, keep looking at me," Cain warned her and tried to get her look back up at him. He dropped her hands and cupped her face with both of his hands, "No matter what, we have to keep you awake."

Azkadellia rushed to her sister's side and took one of DG's hands in her own. Immediately their power combined and the light brightened between them. Glitch looked on, unsure of what he could do but observe and see if he couldn't apply some of what he read about the blade to the incident.

"Az," DG groaned and tightened her grip on her older sister's hand.

"I'm here, Deeg," Azkadellia squeezed back, "And I'm not letting go."

DG and Azkadellia both concentrated and the pain began to lessen in DG's chest. DG began to breathe better and Cain could see her face begin to relax. He looked at her chest and could see a small part of the wound begin to open back up and he put his hand over the glowing tattoo.

"You're not taking her that easy," he growled and concentrated much like he had with the emerald.

DG looked in herself and found the pain immediately retreated once Cain had closed his eyes to concentrate. A sigh of relief came from her mouth and Azkadellia let go of her hand. Cain looked back into her eyes with a hesitant smile.

"You sure you don't have powers too?" she asked him with a small voice.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

She smiled back at him, laid her forehead against his, "I don't feel the stabbing anymore."

"Good, may-"

"But now I need to upchuck again," DG scrambled off of the floor and ran for the bathroom again. She slammed the door closed and immediately bent over the porcelain seat of the toilet.

"I don't remember reading about that in the books about the Slayer of Hearts," Glitch commented and looked in the direction DG left in, "Has she been complaining about anything else since we've been back, Cain?"

"Well, she looked like she was getting a headache when she got out of the cyclone yesterday," Cain thought and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Then this morning she was hugging herself and at the store right before she left she put her hand to her head like another headache or she was feeling faint."

Azkadellia sat in her chair and listened to all of her sister's symptoms. Glitch put a hand to his chin to think them over and tried to diagnose the problem as it came to the blade. Azkadellia looked to both men and then got out of her seat.

"Azkadee?" Glitch asked and looked up at her.

"I'm just going to check on DG," Azkadellia walked to the bathroom door and left the men to ponder over the possibilities. She lightly tapped on the wooden door and placed her ear to it.

"Go away, Cain…" DG mumbled from her position on the floor.

"If it was Cain do you think that the tapping would be so light?" Azkadellia mentioned and heard DG flush the toilet and then climb up to sit on the now closed toilet seat. She waited for a few moments and then tried again, "Are you going to let me in, or are you just going to keep me out in the cold."

"You're inside, Az. I think you'll survive," DG said sarcastically, "I don't want you to see me like this."

"I've seen you in worse shape," Azkadellia offered, "Come on, Deeg. I've seen you dead- twice. This can't be that bad."

She heard DG's feet shuffle along the floor and she cracked the door open to peek out at her sister. Azkadellia looked in at her sister and her face immediately changed from an encouraging smile to one of pity, "Oh Deeg."

DG immediately close the door again, "I told you."

"Deeg, come on, I'm sorry," Azkadellia smiled and opened the door with her magic. She squeezed into the small bathroom, placed a towel over the edge of the tub and looked at her sister who was sitting on the toilet once again.

"Using magic is not fair," DG pouted this time. Azkadellia swiped at her sister's bangs and looked into her eyes.

"You feeling any better?" she asked concerned.

"I still feel like I'm going to upchuck, but I don't think there is anything left," DG sighed and leaned against the side of the sink from the toilet. Azkadellia took a wash cloth and rinsed it with cold water before dabbing it on DG's forehead. The younger sister suddenly felt a rush of coolness go through her, "Thanks Az."

"You're welcome," she nodded and began to clean DG's face up a little better than it was before. DG watched her sister work and couldn't hold back a small laugh. Azkadellia furrowed her brows, but stayed intent on her work, "What's so funny?"

"You were so worried about being a mother and you're taking care of me so well," DG smiled and watched her sister.

"Well, I know how to handle you to a point," Azkadellia washed off the cloth again with some more cold water, "When mother was away, I took care of you when you ran from the healers."

"I ran from them?" she laughed a little.

"If you remember the remedies that they had lined up for us as children you would remember running as well," Azkadellia laughed along with her sister, "You're going to be okay."

"Why is the blade doing this to me, Az?" DG moaned and leaned back on the toilet.

"Let's go over what you've been feeling- other than the stabbing," Azkadellia started and handed DG the cloth which she held to her head.

"Well, lately I've been having random headaches, I've been going to the bathroom like crazy, the vomiting… not to mention I'm getting a little tender up here," she motioned to her breasts, "But that could be because of my period that should be any day now… why are you looking at me like that?"

Azkadellia's smile had just gotten wider the whole time that DG was listing off the symptoms she was having, "Deeg, everything that you've described- minus the stabbing pain- are all symptoms of something other than the blade…"

"What do you mean?" DG raised an eyebrow, "Are you telling me that I have some kind of Ozian disease now?"

Azkadellia giggled, "No, not at all."

"Then what?"

* * *

Cain and Glitch were now both sitting on the couch in the front room still going over what the problem could be with DG. She and Azkadellia were now both in the bathroom talking too low for either one of them to hear.

"Do you think Az knows something that she's not telling us?" Cain asked and looked at Glitch.

Glitch immediately shook his head, "Az tells me everything. Especially if it's important."

"WHAT?!"

Cain and Glitch's heads turned at DG's explosion from the bathroom and then looked at one another.

"She tells you everything, huh?" Cain asked and patted Glitch on the back.

"Well, she tells me most," he corrected himself.

DG charged out of the bathroom with Azkadellia in hand. She grabbed a jacket near the door and pulled it on. Cain looked up at her and was about to get out of his seat when DG pointed a jerky finger at him.

"I'm going to be back in a minute, Cain. If you so much as get off that couch I will make sure that you definitely won't be getting off the floor," she turned abruptly with Azkadellia right behind and headed for the truck.

Cain was half walk off the couch and then sat back down on the cushion.

Glitch looked after the fading brake lights of the truck, "Did you forget to mention her mood swings?"

"Are you sure it has to do with the blade, zipper-head?"

"Not so much anymore," Glitch shook his head, "The stabbing for sure, but the other things don't add up to anything that I've seen or read from the books."

The two sat in silence again and then looked at one another.

"Maybe we should have dinner ready for them," Glitch offered and Cain nodded in agreement.

They worked with the vegetables and meat that DG had bought from the store and made something close to steaks and fresh, steamed vegetables.

"I don't like this, Glitch," Cain mentioned while cutting up the meat.

"Neither do I," Glitch shook his head and turned down the heat on the stove and drained the water from some of the vegetables, "Not knowing just is not my cup of tea."

"You think that maybe the blade could be making her sick?"

"The only thing I could think of is that he's searching harder for her since he can't find her in the O.Z. Maybe he is trying to break through."

"Hm," Cain grunted as he put each serving on the four plates and looked out the window as the sun was setting and the truck came back up the bumpy driveway.

The girls walked in the door, DG with a plain paper bag in her hand and Azkadellia smiling behind her. They both stopped and looked into the kitchen where the guys stood next to the table. Cain had a small kitchen towel hanging out of the side of his jeans while Glitch had one over his shoulder. DG noticed that the counter was being wiped up and they didn't leave quite a mess, but it looked like Glitch got a little something on his face. Cain looked as clean as ever. She was glad that the house was still standing since neither of them knew how to work the oven in the O.Z., much less the ones on the other side. Both girls looked at one another and then back at the boys.

"What's all this for?" DG asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You shouldn't have to take care of us all the time, sweetheart," Cain moved a chair out for her to sit and she was about to when Azkadellia poked her in the side with her elbow.

"I have to do something really quick and then we'll be right back, I promise," DG put up a finger and she and Azkadellia went back into the bathroom.

Cain and Glitch sat down and waited for the girls to come back out. Cain looked at the hallway after close to ten minutes went by and then back at his dinner, "What could they be doing in there?"

"Whatever it is has to be-"

"You're shitting me!" DG yelled from the bathroom.

Cain walked to the hallway and looked down at the slightly opened door, "You two okay in there?"

"Fine," both girl's said and quickly closed the door, "Just some girl issues."

"Dinner's ready, don't let it get cold," he yelled back and heard an 'okay' from both princesses.

"They okay?" Glitch asked and poked at his food.

"They say they are," he nodded, "But they're hiding something behind their innocence."

"Aren't they always?"

After five more minutes both girls came into the kitchen and sat next to their guys. Azkadellia had a bright smile on her face and began to eat and talk with Glitch as if everything was normal. DG on the other hand sat a little stunned and silently shoveled food into her mouth.

"Is everything okay, kiddo?" Cain asked and began to eat now that she was at the table.

"Everything… is great," DG nodded with a huge, genuine DG smile.

"Everything check out?"

"Yeah, just wasn't expecting-"

Azkadellia snorted and almost spit out her corn that was in her mouth. She coughed as Glitch patted her on the back and she put up a hand, "I'm okay."

DG glared at her, "As I was saying, I just wasn't expecting a few things that were happening."

"Yeah, I bet getting back to this side is quite a shock after being gone for so long," Cain looked between the two sisters with curiosity.

"Yeah, I guess that's part of it," DG nudged her foot into her sister's leg and bulged her eyes out to get her to stop laughing.

After dinner Azkadellia and Glitch sat out in the front room and turned on the television. They were watching an old western and Glitch turned to Cain who just got up from cleaning the table and dishes with DG.

"Hey Cain, it's you," he pointed to the screen with the hand that wasn't wrapped around his wife.

"What are you talking about?" Cain wiped his hands on a small kitchen towel and threw it on the counter. He looked at the screen as the cowboy shot the bad guys with perfect aim from his horse and then climbed down to save the woman from danger. He leaned forward on the back of the couch to the side of Glitch and Azkadellia.

"Look at that, killed all the bad guys and still won the lady with gentlemanly demeanor," Glitch pointed again to the screen, "Definitely a parallel with you Cain."

"That's what I always thought," DG wrapped her arms around his waist and peered at the screen over his shoulder.

"You two are dreamin'," he said and stood straight again.

"I'm going to bed," DG said with a yawn, "I'm tired out."

"Okay," Cain nodded and waved at the other two, "Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight," the other two echoed.

"You two don't keep that on all night long," DG pointed at them, "That generator can only take so much."

They both nodded their heads. Cain followed her up the stairs and she looked back at him once he closed the door to her room.

"You didn't have to come to bed with me," she said and changed into a very large shirt and her underwear, "You could have watched some TV if you wanted to."

"I wanted to make sure that you are okay," he changed as well into a pair of fleece sleeper pants and looked back at her. He walked over and sat on the end of the bed and pulled her in front of him, "You threw Glitch and I off guard when you kept shouting from the bathroom. What's going on?"

She looked down in his eyes and tried to formulate something suave and smooth to tell him instead of being blunt and just telling him straight out, 'Guess what, Tin Man, we're having a kid!' She searched and wished that he knew what a pregnancy test was, then she could just hand it to him. Azkadellia had it easy. Glitch was there when the healers and doctors told her she was pregnant.

"DG?" he asked.

"This isn't something that I'd thought I'd say so soon," she admitted and she felt his hands tense on her hips. He looked worried and she shook her head, "Don't worry so much. It's a good thing. At least I think it is."

"Then what is it? You're going to end up giving me a heart attack if you have me guess anymore," Cain asked and held one of her hands while his other stayed on her hip.

She opened her mouth to go with the blunt approach, but thought better of it. Instead, she took his hand that was holding hers and put his palm flat on the front of her stomach. He looked up at her with a question on his face. She looked back down determined that he would understand the significance of his hand on her stomach. He looked from her eyes to her stomach and noticed that she had a slight bump beginning to form underneath the large shirt. He wasn't imagining it days prior.

"DG…" his heart began to race. He put his other hand on the other side of her small frame and a big smile came to his face. She put her hands over his and rubbed her thumbs over his knuckles, "A-are you sure?"

She nodded, "Az told me she had suspicions. Then we ran out and got a pregnancy test."

"What's that?" he frowned a little, "Did some one have to examine you?"

"No," she shook her head with a small laugh, "It's a type of test that tests my urine for hormones. No doctor needed."

"How far along?" he asked and the smile came back. His hands rubbed over her skin gently and then looked up at her.

"I don't know," she shook her head, "Usually women don't start showing until at least nine weeks. I'm barely getting a bump, although now I'm getting nausea and headaches more frequent. I must have had symptoms before and just pushed them off as something else."

Cain stood from the bed and spun DG in a circle. They both laughed and she hugged him around his neck. He placed her back on the ground and sat back on the bed, facing her stomach. DG watched as he leaned forward and kissed her stomach lightly and then leaned against it, his arms encircling her hips. She combed her fingers through his short hair and kissed the top of his head.

"Come on, Tin Man," she smiled and drew his head to look up at her, "You're growing soft on me."

"Remember, you're the only one I do," he opened his arms and she laid down with him. DG crawled up to the pillows while Cain stayed a little lower. She laid on her back and Cain looked at the lump on her lower stomach. She still played with his hair while he rubbed the skin, "I wonder why Raw didn't catch it when he examined you."

"He was looking for my chest wounds and my head," DG thought back, "He wasn't focused on a full body scan."

"Do you think that the blade damaged her?" Cain asked and remembered that Azkadellia told him that their first born would be a girl.

"I don't think so," she shook her head, "She feels like she's going to be just fine. She's going to be strong, just like her dad."

"You better have your mother's brains, kiddo," he talked to DG's stomach, "Your father didn't even recognize the signs of pregnancy."

"You've only been through it once and that was many annuals ago," DG laughed lightly. She combed her fingers through his hair as she began to fall to sleep. His voice was low and gentle while he talked to the small one inside her. He didn't know if the soon to be princess could hear him or not, but he was still going to tell her the story of how her mother saved a broken man without a heart.


	20. Chp 19: Waking Nightmare

**Chapter XIX**: Waking Nightmare

Glitch and Azkadellia walked into the kitchen the next morning to find DG already at the table with a frown and her face supported by both of her fists. She looked grumpy and from what Azkadellia heard earlier that morning, she already had a visit or two to the bathroom. But something told her that wasn't the reason that DG was that upset. Something else was going through the troubled mind of her younger sister.

"Why so down this morning, Doll?" Glitch asked and hugged DG with one arm. He looked up at Cain who was over the stove scrambling some eggs and bacon, "Oh… well, Cain isn't that bad of a cook. He did great on the meat last night. Cooked very well- a little rare for my taste, but what else should I expect from a rough guy like Cain?"

"It's not that he's cooking," DG pouted and looked up at Cain, "It's that he won't let me help him cook- or help him do anything else for that matter."

"You don't need to constantly serve us just because we're from the O.Z. and we're now on the other side of the rainbow," Cain reminded her and brought the pan over to her plate, "How much eggs do you want?"

"Just a little," she said and Cain piled the eggs onto her plate and then went back to cook some more. She looked back at her plate and then at the back of Cain. She stuck her tongue out at him and then scooped most of her eggs to Azkadellia's and Glitch's plates. She looked at them and then took two slices of toast and put them on her plate, "The only thing I was able to make this morning was the toast, and even then that was pushing it. He was in the bathroom and nearly threw me against the wall to protect me from the well done bread that jumped up once it was done."

"You need to slow down a little bit more, sweetheart. With the Slayer of Hearts and Soren still coming after you- not to mention the pain that you had in your chest yesterday, I don't want to take any chances with you. So keep it slow," Cain explained, "If not for you, than for the baby."

Glitch chose this time to choke on a glass of orange juice that was sitting unused at the side of DG's plate. Azkadellia patted his back until he was able to talk normally again. Glitch looked up at Cain and DG, "You two are expecting?! A baby?!"

"What else would be expecting?" DG muttered and stabbed at her eggs, "A Papay?"

She through that over for a moment and a gruesome visualization came to mind. She squinted her eyes and put a hand against her stomach to try to block it out again, "Ow…"

"Wow," Glitch looked at them and then back at Azkadellia, "Just wow…"

"Az, you didn't tell him?" DG asked her sister.

"We fell asleep on the couch before I could tell him," she explained, "And when we woke up we turned off the television and went to bed. I didn't even think about it in my sleep stupor. I thought that I'd just tell him when we got up this next morning."

"Well then, Cain," Glitch stood up and patted Cain on the back, "Good job on the baby front. Congratulations are in order. As soon as we get back to the O.Z. I am making you a big pot of warm muglug."

"Thanks, Glitch," he nodded with a straight face. He turned back and put some bacon on DG's plate before giving the rest to Azkadellia and Glitch, "Now if someone would just take it easy for herself and others and let herself be pampered-"

"That's just it, I don't want to be pampered more than what I am as a princess," DG rolled her eyes and bit into her toast. She chewed fast and then swallowed, "I mean, look at Az!"

"Don't bring me into this," Azkadellia began to eat and held up her hands in defense. She knew how Cain and DG could get into it and she wanted out of the battle zone.

"Well, you were fighting me head on when you first discovered you were pregnant. You didn't hold back and you're about ready to burst now with a perfectly healthy baby," DG argued, "And here I can't even cook my own breakfast without a lecture or safety equipment. I'm surprised that you're even letting me use a fork. I think Popsicle has sporks somewhere in the kitchen. You want me to look for those?"

"There is no need for sporks- whatever those are. Az didn't have a glowing tattoo of the family seal on her chest and died two times before she was twenty-three, now did she?" Cain asked and sat down next to DG with his own plate.

"Arg," DG fumed and grabbed her piece of toast and got out of her chair, "You were so sweet last night and now you're just infuriating! Lecture after lecture of my safety! It's enough to drive me insane!"

"I'm taking care of you," he reminded her and tried not to yell back.

"Well, I appreciate it more than you know! And I understand why you do it! But you are so- so- ugh!" she pushed in her chair and walked to the front room where she laid out on the couch, "I'm laying down!"

Cain growled as he stared at his food. He looked at the back of the couch where DG laid down and then put his fork and knife down. He took a deep breath and started to get out of his seat when Azkadellia put a hand on his sleeve.

She shook her head and looked at him, "Believe me, she'll feel better after a nap."

Cain looked at Glitch who popped some eggs into his mouth and nodded his head furiously. Glitch pulled out some of the pop tarts that DG had bought the day before and offered one to Cain after he swallowed the eggs he was chewing.

"Poptart?"

* * *

Soren walked through the fog of limbo and fumed at his progress, "How dare the queen move DG to the other side! It was hard enough breaking into others dreams, now I had to break the wall between the O.Z. and the other side."

He had broken through one of the guards outside of DG's quarters. He was posted for too long and like a simpleton that he was, fell into a deep sleep. It was easy enough to sneak into his subconscious, wake up his body and sneak into DG's bedchambers. Although, once doing this, there was no DG to be found. He was later told by the other guard on duty that the princess had been sent to land far away for protection.

"Hiding again, princess," Soren shook his head and looked as dreams began to form to either side of him. He looked through the dreams of the people of Kansas and found most of them to be pretty simple. Some dreamed of better crops, while others dreamt of catching their beloved one's eye. He caught quite a few dreams of people flying off to different locations on the 'other side'. Some dreamt of a new, fantasy land while others dreamed of places that seemed real enough to be actual places. While he was looking through the many dreams and thoughts he found one young man that was deep in sleep and dreaming of the same thing that he was looking for. Or the same _person_ he was looking for.

In the dream the young man had beaten a form of Wyatt Cain to the ground which thoroughly entertained Soren. The young man then stepped up to DG and took off with her in a very different looking kind of vehicle than what is usually seen in Central City and drove off into the many fields. Then the young man had DG all to himself and doing some very unspeakable things with her.

Soren didn't know whether to be intrigued or outraged by this boy's interest in Princess Dorothy. He moved closer and thought that the dream had gone on for long enough. He had work to do and the activity of dream watching was getting him no where. He tapped the boy's shoulder and his head of black hair whipped around at Soren.

"Who the hell are you?" the boy yelled at him as Soren sat and smiled at the boy from the hood of his car.

"The question I believe, is who are you and how do you know the sweet, Princess Dorothy?" Soren touched the DG copy and she faded away from the dream with a frozen face of confusion much like that of the young boy.

"Princess?" the young man laughed and leaned on the seat of his car, "You have got to be thinking of somebody else, buddy. DG is no princess."

"And yet you still dream of her," Soren smirked, "Almost as if she was one."

"She's an ex-girlfriend who wouldn't let me go all the way," he explained, "Of course I'm a bit built up."

"What's your name?" Soren asked again.

"Jared, who are you?"

"I may just be the answer to your dilemma, Jared," Soren smirked, "What if I told you that there's a way to get DG back and clear Wyatt Cain out of the picture? Where DG would be linked in such a way to you that she couldn't escape even if she wanted to?"

"I'm listening," Jared nodded.

Soren jumped off of the hood of the car and put his hands on either side of the dream Jared's head, "Just relax and I'll tell you everything to do to give me control and give you what you really want."

"Why are you doing this?" Jared asked hesitantly as scenes flew in front of his dream eyelids.

"Because we both want the same thing," Soren smirked and found himself thrown inside the head of Jared, "We want DG. And we will have her."

* * *

DG laid on the couch and ate the rest of her piece of toast while she stared at the ceiling. She remembered staring at the same ceiling when she was around eight years old and picking out pictures of flying monkeys and cute dolls. It may have been another clever set up by her parents or by her robo-parents, but then again, she couldn't find the same figures in the texture of the ceiling now.

She heard the other three move about and talk quietly at the table behind her. She could tell that Cain wanted to come and talk to her, but she probably wouldn't have listened if he did. She wanted to be stubborn at the moment and he made her mad. The last thing on earth that she wanted to be was pampered. And it was her pleasure to show him, Glitch and her sister what kind of world she grew up in.

A loud sigh escaped from her and she hugged one of the throw pillows that was sitting on the couch behind her. She held another beneath her head and stared out the window. She half expected to see a twister on the horizon, but there was no twister in sight. Just more of the flat farm lands of Kansas. She didn't know which was worse. Missing the O.Z. when she didn't even remember what it was, or missing the O.Z. even with the stuffy balls and fluffy dresses.

She felt her eyes start to droop over her eyes and couldn't remember when she felt as tired as she did. She blamed it on the new pregnancy and now that she knew what it was, it seemed all the symptoms have caught up to her and have crashed down on her in one fell swoop. First she had to deal with headaches and nausea and then food cravings. Now the fatigue had began to settle in and she just couldn't wait for more morning sickness.

When DG was aware of herself again she was walking through the fog banks like she had right after she was stabbed. Except this time she had gravity applied. She wasn't floating though the area. She felt the ground beneath her feet, even though she had no idea what material it was. It was too firm to be dirt of mud and too soft to be concrete. She shrugged and just believed that it was the way that the fog banks felt under her feet.

Vaguely aware of what her surroundings looked like she hoped that she was having a dream or nightmare instead of actually being there. The last thing she needed was Cain, Azkadellia and Glitch freaking out that she wasn't waking up. As she walked along she saw no sign of any activity, much less any other people. Maybe she was still in the safety of the past monarchs. Being on the opposite side of the rainbow may have its down sides. Hopefully it didn't completely disconnect her from her past.

She wandered long enough that the fog began to dissipate and she was in a small clearing that she remembered from her travels. Cain, Glitch, Raw and her had all stopped there on her original journey through the O.Z. She sat on the small stump that Cain used as a look out and then looked up at the sky, careful to shield herself from the rays of the sun.

"One sun?" DG squinted her eyes and looked around her, "Well, I know I'm dreaming, so that fact shouldn't be all that unreal."

The rest of the area looked like it had the day they had stopped. It even still had the fire pit that Cain had built to cook some meat that he had caught. She even remembered how the meat tasted. At that point it had been so long since she had eaten anything that the thought of eating a poor defenseless animal wasn't so appalling as she would originally had thought.

Then something caught her attention, a slight sound that was so familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She looked at the ground and saw a huge shadow. She looked up and tears nearly sprang immediately to her eyes.

"Dad?" she whispered.

There in the large basket was her father, guiding the large balloon to come to a stop on the ground beside her. She ran to the basket and threw her arms around him as he tried to climb out of it. He hugged her too and kissed the side of her head.

"DG," he murmured, "I never thought that I would have seen you here. I thought you were back on the other side. I heard you from the other side."

"I was," she nodded and helped him out of the basket, "Cain got me back over to the other side. Some how with the power of the crystal he got me back over to where I needed to be. Although, it didn't work the same way with you."

"I heard," he nodded and leaned on the basket, "I appreciate you trying though."

"So… you heard all of that, huh?"

"Yeah, I did," he leaned forward and tapped a finger on the edge of her nose, "You will always be my little girl- my spitfire. And I'll always be your dad. If you remember me or not."

"I just wish I remembered more."

"Me too," he sighed, "Then this may be a little easier on you. How did you get here?"

"I'm asleep," DG shrugged, "I've been pretty tired lately."

"What have you been doing that would tire you out so much?" he chuckled. She paused and looked at him a bit confused on how he didn't already know, "I may show up in your dreams, little girl, but I'm still no mind reader."

"Well, I guess I should tell you," she smiled and put one hand on her lower stomach, "You're going to be a grandfather… again."

"That's great," he smiled and hugged his daughter again, "Does Wyatt know?"

"Yeah, and he's treating me like porcelain again because of it. I'm not going to get hurt," she saw Ahamo's eyes shift from one side of the clearing to the other, "What is it?"

"This is not a safe place for you to be, DG," he warned, "He's still here and can invade your dreams. I've followed you the best I can, but if I can cross over, so can he."

"I still have connections to 'limbo'?" DG asked and looked at the place, "Is that where I'm at?"

"You're in the lower level of it," Ahamo nodded, "You can make it into any place you want to as if you were having a lucid dream. I thought I'd have some fun flying since you did a marvelous visioning of the clearings near the Realm of the Unwanted."

DG smiled and looked at her father. Really looked at him. He was a good man and deserved so much better than to be lost in limbo, "Are you going to be stuck here like he is?"

"I have no one on the other end of my blade," Ahamo shrugged, "Until he passes on voluntarily or finishes what he wants to accomplish- which is not an option- I'm content with flying in my balloon."

"What if he passes on?" DG asked.

"Then my soul, I guess you can call it, will be free to do what it needs to," he waved his hand in the air.

"Then this really is goodbye, huh?" DG asked her eyes shifting away.

"I'm sorry, Spitfire," he rubbed a hand along the side of her arm. As he took a breath to say something else his balloon began to immediately deflate on top of them. He took her by the arm and pulled her out of the way of the material before they were both caught underneath.

"What's going on here?" DG asked and watched as the vision of the O.Z. fell and the fog rolled back in. Then out of the darkness one figure stepped out.

"I finally found you, my princess," Soren smirked and began to walk toward them.

"Get out of here, DG!" Ahamo pushed her in the opposite direction that Soren was coming from. Soren came forward and struggled with her father. She watched unable to leave her father again. She saw him fight and noticed that he was just as good as Glitch as far as fighting was concerned and kept up well. She was none the less still worried about him.

As he pushed Soren away once again he looked back at DG, "I said run, DG!"

"Run where?!" DG argued and pointed behind him, "Watch out!"

Soren's fist came into contact with her father's jaw and he went flying to land near her feet. He shook his head and gently felt along his jaw with his hand. He looked back at the approaching Soren and then back up at DG.

"Wake up, DG. You need to wake up! Wake up!"

* * *

DG sat up on the couch with a scream and her hands out in front of her. Cain jumped from the table, was over the couch and at her side before she stopped.

"DG?" he held her shoulders to turn her to him.

She immediately yelled and fought against him. Her eyes were tightly shut as were her fists as she hit against him in attempt to escape whatever attacked that had come after her.

"DG, sweetheart, it's me," he said and held her to his chest instead of holding her by the shoulders. Slowly her gasps and struggles receded and she breathed in his scent. He lowered his head to her ear, "It's me. You're safe."

"Cain…" she opened her eyes and lunged at him, "Oh God, Wyatt."

"What happened?" he asked and rubbed up and down her back.

"He's on this side. I know he is," DG whispered, "And he knows where I am."


	21. Chp 20: True Power

**Chapter XX**: True Power

After Cain calmed DG down to a point Glitch and Azkadellia sat down with both of them in the living room to discuss the problem at hand. Cain had moved to sit on the couch and DG sat over his lap with her head on his shoulder. Azkadellia sat next to Glitch on the smaller couch and looked at DG with concern.

"How could he have gotten to this side?" Glitch wondered and pondered as he looked from the floor to the ceiling in search for an answer.

"What I want to know if how he knew to come to this side in the first place," Cain growled and would check with the guards as soon as he got back to the palace. The only ones who knew where they were sent were the royal guards in charge of the immediate royal family and the royal family themselves.

"Maybe that's why I had that stabbing feeling last night," DG thought out loud and pushed her head further into Cain's shoulder, "Maybe that was him breaking through to this side."

"Now that he's on this side we have to be more cautious about the people around us," Cain said with a sigh and looked down at DG, "Even those friends of yours. We don't know whether or not he has decided to go after them to get to you."

DG nodded sadly. She didn't want her friends to suffer. By coming over to this side she put their lives in danger. Hopefully Soren didn't know who she had connections to on this side and couldn't reach them.

"What happened in the dream you had, Deeg?" Azkadellia asked to bring DG out of her worried daze.

"I'm not even sure that it was a dream," DG looked at the ceiling, "I was walking through the fog banks like I had when I was in limbo waiting for you, Cain, to wake me up. But this time I didn't have anyone around me; it was just me walking through a dense fog."

"Did you feel any pain in your chest?"

"No," DG shook her head, "I just felt normal. It's like I just traveled into some clouds or something."

"The last time you traveled there you were almost dead," Azkadellia reminded her.

"Yeah, but I guess I was so tired I was thrown back into it just like Soren can walk into other sub-consciousness," DG explained. She paused and looked at Azkadellia for a moment before drawing in a deep breath, "I saw dad."

"You saw Popsicle in limbo?" Azkadellia tilted her head to the side.

"No, _father_," DG leaned her head toward her sister a little for her to get it. Azkadellia's face frozen for a moment when she realized the connection.

"How? How could he have been there?"

"I don't know exactly, but he was stabbed by the blade," DG explained, "He is stuck there until Soren either passes on voluntarily to the next life or until he completes his goal and gets me."

"Which is not going to happen," Cain said right after her.

DG smirked a little to herself, "That's what dad told me."

"Are you sure it was dad and not your imagination or your mind trying to awaken something that was dead?" Azkadellia pressed on.

"It was dad," DG nodded, "I was sure of it. No imaginary man could take the place of dad like that."

"What if we can't get Soren to pass over voluntarily?" Azkadellia asked with worry in her voice.

"Dad said he would be in limbo as long as Soren is since he was the one to stab him," DG explained and shook her head, "I tried to use the emerald on him."

"On who?" Glitch asked.

"It brought me back, I thought that it may be able to bring my dad back too," DG reasoned, "It didn't work. I wanted it to work so badly."

"Where did you see father?" Azkadellia asked.

"My mind conjured up a piece of the O.Z. and he was flying his balloon over it," DG chuckled a little to herself even though she was still upset, "He said he was pretty content with his flying."

"He always was," Azkadellia nodded with her own sad smile.

"He told me to get away. To wake up," DG said sadly again, "Soren showed up out of now where and my dream version of the O.Z. fell away. He began to fight with dad and dad told me to run. To wake up so Soren wouldn't catch me."

"His majesty always was one to figure out ways to protect you girls through every avenue necessary," Glitch nodded and hugged his wife beside him, "Are you okay, Azkadee?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "We need to prepare. Soren will use whatever and whoever he can to come a get you DG. We have to make sure that we are ready when he does come for you."

DG reluctantly nodded, "But what else can we do except wait for his first attack?"

"I don't know, little sister," she shook her head sadly, "But we're together. And when we are together-"

"Nothing can harm us," DG finished for her sister, "I know."

At the other end of the room the phone started to ring and Cain had his revolver out and pointed at it in no time flat. DG put a hand over his and had him lower his weapon. She looked over at Glitch who had nearly jumped on her sister to protect her.

"It's okay, guys," DG shook her head and got off of Cain's lap, "It's just the telephone. Remember? I told you it's how a lot of people communicate on this side."

"Could have warned us it was going to be that loud," Cain grumbled as she walked away, "Could have shot the damn thing into next week."

DG walked to the phone and picked up the receiver, "Hello?"

"DG! Oh, God, I'm glad you're home," Tiff sounded out of breath and a little shaky on the other end of the call.

"Tiff? What's wrong? It sounds like you just ran a marathon," DG frowned and the other three looked over at her a little concerned.

"It's Jared," she said simply.

"What about him?" DG frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. The last thing she needed to deal with right now was past boyfriends wanting to kick up dust and cause a problem. She had enough of those on her own.

"No, it's complicated, D," Tiff shook her against the phone as if DG would see it.

"How so?"

"He's different," Tiff whispered and closed her eyes, "I don't know how else to explain it. He just stopped by to ask where you might be."

"Did you tell him?"

"Of course not," she huffed, "I didn't like the way he was acting. But DG, he knows where your parent's farm house is and that's where you said you were staying while you were in town."

"Why did he act weird? What did he do?"

"He just stood there," she paused, "He had this look in his eye like he wasn't Jared. At least not all of him was Jared. His body was rigid and he had this calm, serene look on his face like he was high on something."

"Okay, Tiff. Thanks for telling me."

"Are you going to go back to see your mom?" Tiff asked.

"Pretty soon," DG nodded with the phone, "I think there are a few things to take care of first. Take care of yourself, Tiff."

"Bye, DG," the click seemed deafening to DG. She put the phone back on the hook and looked out the side window. She saw a small cloud of dust being kicked up by a small sports car in the distance.

"DG? What's going on?" Cain asked and stood up to stand behind her.

"He's using Jared," DG reported and looked back at him and then tilted her head toward the window, "And I think he's here."

Outside the house and few a few yards from the porch, Jared climbed out of his car with something in his hand. The silver flashed from the metal as he moved closer to the porch and to her. He paused momentarily to look at the farm house and then at the specific windows as if to plan an invasion. He looked over the upper level that was DG's bedroom from Jared's memories and then he moved to the first story windows. DG watched him and he locked eyes with her immediately.

He smiled and titled his head to the side, "DG. You need to come outside. We have to talk."

She took a deep breath and stared back into his eyes, "That isn't Jared. That's Soren."

Cain stepped back from the window and pulled DG back by her arm. He set her back on the far couch with her sister. Glitch stood up next to Cain and began to ask him for information on the situation.

"What's going on? If I'm here to protect, I got to know the specifics here," Glitch asked as Cain walked around to find a few items.

"Soren has control over DG's old beau," Cain said shortly as he got his hat and checked the ammo he had in his weapon, "It looks like he brought a new knife with him this time."

"I read somewhere that it had the power for him to use another knife as if he had the Slayer of Hearts in his hand."

"Then that's what he has planned," Cain nodded and popped his ammo in.

"Cain," DG called to him and he knelt down in front of her. She looked him in the eyes, "I know you aren't planning on going out there to face him."

"Someone has to and hell knows, it's not going to be you," he said with a nod of his head. She looked at his neck and noticed the silver locket that still was around his neck. He had gotten a thicker- and she had to admit more manly- chain to hang it from. She picked it up, "You're still wearing it."

"So you'll always be with me."

"You can't kill him, Cain," she shook her head, "As much of a jack ass Jared is, he is just being played by a very bad guy. He's still an innocent in this."

Cain took a deep breath and nodded, "But if there is no other way… I won't let that psycho get to you."

"Princess! Come out, come out where ever you are!" a voice shouted from beyond the front porch.

DG looked over Cain's shoulder and then back in his eyes, "Don't you get hurt out there."

"I'll try," he smiled and stood up. Both men walked out the front door and DG and Azkadellia held their hands tightly together and prayed that safety followed them.

"Ah, so the protectors of the future O.Z. come to face me," Soren laughed through Jared's voice, "And look how well you blend in to the people here. It's amazing what a new set of clothes will do."

"You aren't going to win, Soren," Cain called out to him, "DG is back in a place you will never reach her."

"So says you, Tin Man," he laughed.

DG stood up from Azkadellia and looked through the peep hole of the door to watch the fight unfold. Azkadellia slowly followed behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"DG, we shouldn't be this close."

"I feel so useless," DG frowned, "I have my magic back. I should use it. I should be out there fighting by Cain's side."

"You put yourself out there and you are an easy target," Azkadellia reminded her.

"And so are Cain and Glitch," DG pounded her fist against the door.

"Where is my lovely bride, by the way?" Soren asked, "In sitting safely with her sister. With the advisor here I bet that his wife isn't all that far away."

Glitch kept his frown on his face.

"I bet they're just trying to reserve their power together," Soren thought to himself, "Let's bring DG out. She's the life of the party after all."

"I'm not letting you bring her out here, Soren," Cain stepped in front of the door.

"I don't think that's really your choice," Soren held up the large blade that he had brought from Jared's house and twisted it to the side. Only a moment later, DG was pulled against her will through one of the front windows and out to the front lawn.

"DG!" Azkadellia yelled after her sister.

"Az! Stay in the house!" Glitch yelled back at her.

Cain jumped from the porch and down to DG who was laying pretty still in the small patches of grass. He kept his eyes trained on Soren, but rolled DG on her side, careful not to dig in any more pieces of glass into her body.

"DG?" he asked and she groaned.

"Remind me that jumping through glass windows aren't as great as it seems in the movies," she groaned and hissed from some of the cuts on her arms and legs. She looked up at Soren and brought up her hand to shoot some magic at him when nothing shot from her fingers.

"Having problems with your powers again, princess?" Soren taunted her and tilted the knife back and forth in his hand.

"You didn't even touch me," DG said and pulled a piece of large glass from her arm.

"No, but you were cut by me through the magic," he reminded her and pointed at the cuts from the window, "Which is the same effect as if cut by the Slayer of Hearts. Magic is a fun little tool, isn't it?"

"Bastard," DG grunted.

"Now, it's time to finally let you choose," Soren laughed to himself and looked over DG and Cain, "Give it up, princess. You are mine, you were always mine. Give in or die. If you do not come to me, you will waste away. It is the curse of the blade. Even if you evade me and live with Cain, your body will deteriorate with in three months of leaving my side."

DG was about to retort that she would rather die when she swiped her hand over her lower stomach. She had the baby. If she died than the baby would die before it was even born. She looked up into Cain's eyes and noticed that he knew the same facts. He looked into her eyes and she knew what he about to ask of her. He wanted her and the baby safe at any cost.

"Don't you dare," she whispered to him and shook her head slightly, "Don't you dare ask me to go with him."

"I'll lose you both," he whispered back and put a hand on top of hers which still floated over her stomach, "And I am not strong enough to watch you die again. Please don't ask me to watch that again."

"You will never lose me," she pointed into his chest and pushed back on the locket still around his neck, "I'm not giving up hope."

Cain popped his head up and looked at Soren, "Why does it have to be DG? Why is it so important that you have her?"

"She's mine to take!" Soren turned the blade and the tattoo on DG's chest burned bright. She cried out and fell forward from the slight pain.

"Stop it!" Cain yelled at him.

"She'll always be mine. I love her," Soren said with a smile.

Glitch ran from the porch and tried to land a shot in Soren's jaw. Soren saw him coming and shot his hand holding the blade in front of him, sending Glitch flying back toward the porch and landing on top of the porch furniture.

Cain looked away from where Glitch landed and back at DG. Tears were starting to form in her eyes and he could feel her starting to shake against him. He tore his eyes away from her and looked back up at Soren, "If you love her, why are you so intent on hurting her?"

"It's the only way that she listens," he whispered.

"You shouldn't have to hurt someone you love to have them listen to you," DG said through the pain of the blade. She looked up while she still held her chest, "That's something that you learn in a relationship. If that person truly loves you, they will learn how to listen and how to understand how you feel. You shouldn't have to hurt them to do so… And once you find that one that you love, you never mean to hurt them at all."

"You don't know love!" Soren yelled at her, "You've never known love because he never loved me!"

"I know love better than anyone I have ever known!" DG yelled back, "I know the love of being a daughter. I know the love of a sister, and a friend…" she looked at Glitch and found Azkadellia trying to make it out the door to him.

"Anyone who has friends knows that love, the same of siblings," he called back.

"I know the love of a place that I never knew existed until months back when I stumbled upon it," she thought back to the O.Z., "I know the love of it's people and the faith that they gave to a complete stranger turned princess."

"You were born to rule!"

She then turned to Cain and looked him in the eyes, "And I know the love of a lover and a soul mate… A love that lasts through everything no matter how impossible it is said to be."

"Not if you don't love me," he continued, "You were promised to me."

"The DG back then was promised to you," DG let out a sob as the pain had started to burn, "She died at the hands of the witch much like your parents did. Please, don't let more innocents die…"

"The only innocence that would die today would be this boy I have taken," Soren shouted into the air, "He wanted you too, princess. So badly he wanted you too."

"He's not the only innocence!" DG cried and hugged herself. She looked up to lock eyes with Soren, "You kill me, you kill the innocent life in me! I cannot allow that!"

"You're… with child?" the knife in his hand shook a little at the realization and he shook his head, "No, you can't be."

"It's true!" Cain shouted at him, "She's carrying the next princess of the O.Z. If you go through with this you are not only killing her- you're killing her child as well."

"That should be my child!" Soren was the one that was about to cry. He continued to grip and re-grip the handle of the knife, "I am the one you were to love forever! I love you!"

"Then if you love me, like you say- and I mean truly love me, then let me go," DG felt weak and the pain in her chest was over whelming. She began to lay further to the grass and Cain tried to keep her up, "For my baby… please, don't let my baby die."

"DG!" Cain held her head and looked into her eyes which were fluttering open and close, "Don't do this to me again. Please not again! DG!"

Soren looked on as Cain tried to revive the struggling DG. Tears were in the Tin Man's eyes, just like before. His heart was breaking beyond repair. And Soren was cold. So cold.

_If you love me… truly love me…_

"But I do…" he faltered in his thoughts and thought back to the times as a child. He and DG would climb trees and rocks as children. He remembered picking a flower for her and putting it in her hair as a gesture of what they would have as adults. He was the perfect gentleman to her and her sister. He loved her so much back then. But she was so different now. Was she right? Did that girl die so many years ago? Did it matter as long as it was still DG?

"_Is she happy?"_

Soren's mind shut out all the noises except for the voice of the old man back in the cave. Soren tilted his head to the side, "What?"

"_Is she happy now, with the man she loves?"_

"She says she is and everyone agrees around her," Soren repeated his answers from what seemed so long ago.

"_Then why take her happiness away only to satisfy your own if you truly love her the way you say? Leave her to have her happiness. Let her love who she does. If it is meant to be she will come to you. But never force, for that is not love, but greed… Envy… Malice… All that will destroy you…"_

Soren slowly came back to the present and looked at Cain over DG. She was barely hanging on. She put a weak hand against the side of Cain's cheek with a slight smile on her face even through the pain and his tears. He cried over her and tried to keep her with him. Cain was willing to let her go to save her and their child. He would rather see her survive than have her slowly die in his arms and save his heart the immediate pain.

"_Set her free from your heart and you will love again."_

"You were almost completely right, old man," Soren said to himself, "But I lost my own love when I was six years old."

Soren closed his eyes and dropped the knife from his hands. DG took a deep breath of fresh Kansas air in and the glowing on her chest stopped. She looked up at Cain who had tears on either side of his face, "I don't feel it anymore."

She and Cain both looked over at Soren and saw a dazed looking Jared with a dropped knife by his feet. Cain held DG up against him and they both watched carefully.

"You're right, DG," Soren said with more of Jared's voice than his own, "The little girl I used to love isn't the woman she grew to be. That woman belongs to another who does deserve her truly."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Cain asked from behind DG.

"Something that an old man once told me," Soren nodded, "I had my own demons to fight before I saw what was really in front of me."

"Now what?" DG asked him.

"Now I release myself to where ever I need to go," Soren looked at her as she stood unsteadily against Cain. He sighed and let out a small sob, "I've caused so much more pain than I have ever experienced. I didn't feel love. I felt something darker. I'm sorry, DG. I'm sorry to all of you. I deserve to walk the fog banks for all eternity."

DG looked at him and then back at Cain. She smiled reassuring Cain and walked to Soren. She hugged him around his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "I forgive you."

As she backed away he smiled. Truly smiled and she was reminded of the little boy from another life. She walked back to Cain and they both watched as Soren closed his eyes and suddenly they were open once more. This time they opened as Jared's.

"What's going on?" he asked and looked at DG, Cain and the mess in the front yard, "What happened?"

"Another twister," Cain told him, "Blew out one of the windows. Thanks for coming here trying to tell us."

DG smiled up at her Tin Man. He was catching on.

"Are you okay, DG?" Jared asked, apparently lost and had forgotten all about Soren ever coming into his dreams.

"Yeah, I'm great," DG nodded. Jared nodded back and quickly got into his car to check on the rest of his family and friends in town.

DG turned to Cain about to ask the same thing when he turned to her with her ear cuff in hand, "You forgot something."

Azkadellia finally made it out to Glitch and helped him to sit up.

"That was a hit that would definitely bust a zipper if I still had one," Glitch frowned as Azkadellia felt the bump on the back of his head. He shook his head and looked at the damage and then saw DG and Cain standing alone in the front yard, "What happened?"

"I guess the tale was right," Azkadellia smiled, "True love is power."


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**:

In Finaqua Lavender still poured over books and myths of the blade. Galdra had joined her days before and also was surrounded by scrolls to find whatever she could. Lavender stared at the horrible object on the cloth that Glitch brought it in. Her daughters were sent away because of it and its wielder. She looked up as she felt a strong gust of wind blow into the central room and startled her along with her advisors.

"Your majesty!" Jeb and Kelly both ran into her study with large smiles on their faces, "There's a travel storm to the side of the palace. The princesses are back."

DG, Azkadellia, Cain and Glitch all landed just inside the hedge maze near Finaqua from their travel storm. DG and Azkadellia unhooked their hands from one another as the dust settled and hugged with a laugh.

"Thank goodness that one worked," DG laughed with her sister and thought to herself, "The last time I remember us trying a travel storm almost blew us into the lake."

"Father was so upset with us," Azkadellia nodded along as Glitch and Cain shook off the dust from Kansas.

Glitch took a deep breath, "Nothing like good, O.Z. air!"

"You can say that again," Cain grinned and looked at his surroundings.

Lavender rushed out the front of the palace and ran to her daughters. They hugged their mother with open arms and let out a long sigh of relief.

"You have come home," Lavender looked at both of her daughters, "And you came by your own travel storm. What news do you have for me?"

"Soren is gone," DG said simply and held her mother's hand, "He passed on voluntarily. He's not coming back."

"Thank goodness," she kissed the foreheads of both daughters.

DG looked behind her and saw Galdra. She looked a little more rested than what she was in the tower in Winkieland.

"Lady Galdra," she nodded her head at the young girl.

"Princess DG," she nodded back and hugged her around the shoulders, "Thank you."

"For what?" DG looked down confused.

"For helping my brother move on and helping me to find the courage to fight against him in the end," Galdra smiled, "Now I can try to bring the best of Winkieland back."

"You're very welcome then."

Lavender looked back at Glitch and Cain, "You two have made it in one piece. Thank you."

They both smiled and nodded their heads to her. Cain looked behind her and noticed Jeb running toward him. He ran up to his father and gave him a tight hug with a pat on the back, "You've been gone past a week without a word. We- to say, Kelly was worried."

"Don't you lie, Jeb Cain," Kelly walked behind him and hugged Cain as well, "Welcome back."

Jeb turned to DG and smiled, "Thanks for bringing him home, princess."

"Always, Jeb."

"I think you have that backwards," Cain tried to point out but his son and DG both ignored him.

The small group walked back inside the palace and congregated into the central room. DG's eyes bugged as she saw how much papers and scrolls were scattered over tables and stools. The advisors looked up from their work to look over at DG and the small group behind her.

"My daughters have returned," Lavender announced proudly, "And the threat is no more."

The advisors all sighed in collected relief and immediately began to put away the many books and scrolls around them. No one seemed to notice that a blade went missing in the clutter of scrolls and books as if it disappeared all together.

* * *

_**Two weeks later…**_

"I'm here, don't worry!" DG ran into the dress maker's room and right onto the pedestal. Her hair and make up was already done and all she had to do was don the gown. Azkadellia looked over at her from her own pedestal. DG grinned at her sister and pulled up the gown after she stepped into it, "How's it going, Az?"

"I can't believe that you were almost late for this," Azkadellia chuckled and looked over at her sister, "It's your own wedding, for Ozma's sake!"

"Hey, don't use her name in vain, she's a very nice young woman," DG pointed her finger at Azkadellia. Azkadellia's eyebrow rose, but she didn't ask further.

DG looked her sister over in her new, and brought in, gown. She had delivered her baby only five days before the wedding. It was a beautiful, healthy baby boy with dark hair from both his parents and even darker eyes he got from his father. They had been going back and forth between names for the young boy and ended up naming him Ethan Ambrose.

Azkadellia turned to step off of her pedestal as the dress maker's assistance tried to get the length right. It was of course a corset gown, much like the one that Azkadellia had DG wear at her wedding. DG told her sister straight out, 'If you put me in one of those corsets, I will have my revenge.' Today was that revenge, even if Azkadellia didn't seem all that deterred about it.

The dress wrapped over one shoulder in lace fabric while the other shoulder was covered in silk. The dark blue silk material combined with the lace into the corset bodice and then flared out for the long skirt. DG looked over her sister and let out a little snort.

"What?" Azkadellia asked as the dress maker nodded at her to tell her the length was correct.

"No matter what you wear and no matter how little of time it had been since you've given birth, you still look great in a gown."

Azkadellia laughed at her sister, "It's the Gale curse, I guess."

DG turned around as her corset was tightened a little more. She made sure that her own was made higher up, so she would have a corset, but it wouldn't disturb the baby. As the dress was fitted, the dress makers flowed around DG, blocking Azkadellia's view of her baby sister. From the middle of them DG laughed and held up her hands over the heads of most of them.

"Help me, Az! I'm drowning in a sea of dress makers!"

Both princesses laughed and the main dress maker stood back, "Please, your highness. We are just about done."

After another moment all of them stood back to look at their masterpiece. Azkadellia looked on and her jaw was left open.

"Oh my goodness, Deeg…"

"I have got to see this," DG smiled and carefully got off her perch and over to the mirror.

There she saw the full picture. The Victorian styled wedding dress was not as detailed as it was in the bridal book she read from, but it was still beautiful. The long sleeves tapered over her middle fingers and the square cut bodice gave her a beautiful breast line. The bodice itself was weaved with blue ribbon and light sapphires. The skirt flowed from her waist in a princess style and DG laughed to herself while she turned in front of the mirror, careful not to trip on her short train.

"You know what's strange about this, Az?"

"What's that?" Azkadellia put a supportive hand on DG's shoulder.

"This is the first day that I've actually been happy to look and feel like a princess."

Azkadellia laughed and Lavender walked into the room with a younger servant behind her. The servant carried a small box and stopped a careful distance behind the queen.

"My angel, you look beautiful," her mother cooed loudly and hugged DG careful not to miss up any of her hair or make up. She looked her over and nodded at her choice of dress, "There is one thing missing."

Lavender turned around and opened the box to take out a small crown. DG's coronation crown, "The future queen must wear her crown."

DG bowed a little lower for her mother to set the crown on her head, "Thank you, mother."

She nodded and walked out the door and to the podium out in the gardens of Finaqua. Azkadellia quickly handed her the main bouquet and held her own along with Cain's ring.

As her mother promised, DG was given a wedding with as many or as little guests as she wanted. DG thanked her mother and after talking it over with Cain they decided that the guest list wouldn't exceed five hundred. She had found it important to invite the main dignitaries, but the front rows were reserved for her best friends and family. Besides, the reception was going to be friends and family, just like Azkadellia's was.

Azkadellia smiled brightly at her sister and then walked down the carpeted aisle down to the pool where she and Cain had sat so many times before. At the end of the aisle the queen and the priest figure were waiting. Then off to the right side was Cain, dressed in a white suit with a dark blue sash to match her wedding dress with Glitch right behind him in a blue suit with a white sash. Glitch was chosen as the Wedded brother since Jeb was Cain's son and wouldn't be able to be considered a 'brother' to the groom. Instead, Jeb and Kelly sat in the first row with little Ethan in Kelly's lap. Galdra sat next to them as a guest of honor and an ambassador to her section of Winkieland. Emily sat at their side and smiled back at DG as Hank stepped next to DG.

Before they took off, DG turned to her robot father with a large smile, "I'm glad you got to walk me down the aisle, dad."

"Me too," he nodded, "Me too."

DG looked up at the sky and saw the bright blue sky dotted with both suns. She also wished that Ahamo was able to come back. Her father had given her the chance to get away from Soren while she was asleep and now he was finally able to rest. Hopefully in a place he could watch them all from now on.

Then the song began, the guests stood and DG held on to her father's arm and her bouquet as they walked down the aisle together. She could see Cain at the end of the aisle waiting for her and all she could do was smile. And he did the same back to her. It didn't matter if they had a guest size of thirty or twelve hundred, he would have still looked at her the same way as he did at that moment.

"Who gives this man this woman?" the man at the alter asked.

"I, the man who helped to raise her and the Queen of this land, the mother of this woman, do," Hank said proudly. Cain turned to him and offered his hand to DG. Hank gently placed her hand in his and smiled warmly at Cain before he turned and sat next to Emily in the audience.

"All may be seated," the man told the attendants and the hall echoed as the guests sat down.

DG squeezed Cain's hand in her own and pursed her lips. They looked at one another and took a deep breath. She smiled so bright she didn't know where it came from. He squeezed her hand back and they both looked forward.

"We are here in this glorious palace, for a glorious occasion," the man began and looked between the two of them, "To place two lives into one cup and watch the wonders of a future take hold. The bonding of two hearts in such a way they will never be broken and they will never lose one another. This the day of Princess Dorothy Gale and Wyatt Cain's union… be blessed by the unnamed God.

"I will open the floor to the two to say their blessings and their vows," the man stepped back and Cain looked at DG as she took a deep breath to start.

"I know you wanted to say yours, but I felt like I needed to say mine first. Is that okay?" Cain asked and DG nodded her head. He took both her hands in his and looked into her eyes, "I look at you and I still see the impossible. The adventures we've fought, the obstacles we over came and the future that we built for ourselves. You found me in a tin box that no one ever dared to open before and I never knew if anyone ever would. But what I didn't know was that since you opened that box, you've had my heart and soul. I love you, DG. And I will spend the rest of time living the impossible with you."

DG paused before hers and just stared into his eyes. She took a deep breath and bowed her head a little before she laughed a little bit, "You stole my speech."

Cain and the guests that were close to them laughed along with her. She looked back into his eyes and with a deep breath began.

"As much as people think that I'm good at this kind of thing, you know I'm never really good at speeches. And you know that even though I read them five thousand times before I give them, I still miss them up. You know that I am not perfect and that I have failed things before and probably will fail others along the way. You know my every move before I even take a step. You know me, the real me and have known the real me since I opened that tin can. Just like I know the way that you breath when you want me to think when your asleep or the way I knew your heart right before you climbed out of that truck in Central City. And I could never love anyone as much as I love you every moment of everyday. I will spend eternity in the impossible with you, Wyatt Cain. Every time."

Lavender Eyes stepped forward and smiled at the two ahead of her, "Does the wedded brother have the ring?"

Glitch stepped forward, handed Cain the ring and then stood back into his place.

"Wyatt, repeat after me," Lavender instructed as Cain looked into DG's eyes, "With this endless ring, I give you my endless love…"

"With this endless ring, I give you my endless love…"

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more."

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more," Cain let out a breath he pushed the ring onto her finger.

"Does the wedded sister have the ring?" Lavender looked at Azkadellia as she handed Cain's ring over and then stepped back to her place.

"Again, repeat what I say," Lavender spoke softly, "With this endless ring, I give you endless love…"

"With this endless ring, I give you endless love…"

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more."

"And you will have my heart, my loyalty and my soul joined with yours forever more," DG slid the larger ring onto Cain's finger where the tan line had finally begun to tan over and they interlaced their hands with one another.

"Is there any of those present who wish to speak against this union?" Lavender looked over the crowd which stood silent at her question. DG glanced over the crowd and shot an evil eye at anyone who even looked like they were going to breathe. This in itself made Azkadellia snicker at her. No one spoke up and DG smiled when her mother continued.

"By the power bestowed upon the house of Gale…" Lavender Eyes put her hand over their interlaced ones and a light began to glow between hers, "I give not only my blessing but I solidify the union of this man and woman. In all eyes, ears and hearts they are now recognized as man and wife."

She stood back and the light still surrounded their hands, "Wyatt Cain, now Prince-consort of the lands, you may kiss Princess DG, your wife."

"About time," DG mumbled under her breath before Cain dipped her and kissed her gently. As they separated from the kiss DG looked him straight in the eyes and gave him a secret smile before whispering, "After the reception, I am expecting you to fill that promise you made me."

"I promised you, Mrs. Cain," he whispered in her ear and she shivered at the name, "And I always keep my promises."

* * *

_**Approximately Seven months later…**_

"You just had to fulfill that promise didn't you!?" DG, the new queen of the O.Z. screamed into her King-consort's ear, "I swear by all that is holy, Wyatt Cain, I will make you feel this pain!"

As the last of the contraction left DG she breathed deep and Cain switched hands to shake out the one she had just crushed, "In all fairness, sweetheart, this one was done before that promise was fulfilled."

"I need drugs," she whined and looked at her mother and sister who were on the other side of her from Cain. Lavender gently patted DG's hand and tried to sooth her with calm words.

Her mother had stepped down from the thrown only a couple of months before and given it over to DG. She wanted to spend what time she had left with her family and not with policies and government interruptions.

"You don't need drugs, DG," Azkadellia reminded her and tried to calm her with some magic.

"When I want to hear advice from my royal advisor, then I will ask for it!" DG growled at her sister, "Why did I hire you for that job again?"

"Because you take _my_ advice to heart above all else and I could work with my husband," Azkadellia reminded her. She looked at the medic who was in the delivering position for the baby, "How much longer?"

"Okay, your highness, you're going to need to start pushing," the medic stated and looked over the cloth at DG, "Ready? And push!"

DG pushed as Cain counted to ten and she crushed his hand.

"Okay and rest," the medic announced.

DG breathed shallow in an attempt to catch her breath and looked at Cain again, "I'm going to kill you, Wyatt Cain! I swear to the unnamed God I am! Very slowly."

"I love you too, darlin'," he replied and counted as she had to push again.

"I see the head, your majesty," the medic announced and suddenly the rest of the baby fell into the doctor's hands. The mouth was washed out with water and the baby began to cry. DG's head went back into the pillow but her eyes searched for her baby.

The medic raised the baby over the sheet to show it to DG, "It's a beautiful, healthy baby girl."

"She's perfect," Cain smiled and the medic staff along with Azkadellia helped to clean her up and Cain cut the cord.

"We have an unexpected visitor," the medic said from under the sheet.

"What?!" DG yelled down at her.

"You have to keep pushing, your majesty," the medic told her and she took in a deep breath and began to push again. Soon out came a second body into the medic's hands and she laughed as she lifted the crying baby over the sheet, "Congratulations, you have a son."

"A son?" DG smiled and watched her son cry as they took him back and began to clean him and Cain cut the cord on him as well. Cain came back to sit by her as they cleaned the two bundles. Lavender and Azkadellia cooed over the babies as they were cleaned and Lavender did a Gale right of passage over them both. Cain leaned over and kissed DG on the forehead and rubbed the knuckles of one of her hands.

"You did good, kiddo," he whispered.

She laughed a little with him as the two babies were brought over and set into both of her arms. DG looked into their faces and began to cry in joy. They both had their parent's blue eyes. The girl seemed to have darker hair than the little boy. His was so light it almost looked like he was bald. DG kissed them both and rocked them next to her. Cain rubbed the top of their heads softly and chuckled at DG.

Soon the medics filed out and the rest of the group filed in for a moment or two to see the new additions. DG held out the babies to her mother who took the little girl in one arm and the little boy in the other. Azkadellia took Ethan in her arms from Glitch and showed him his new cousins.

"Baby," the seven month Ethan pointed at his youngest cousin. Of course he was advanced for his age. He was Glitch's son, after all.

"So these are my new siblings, huh?" Jeb looked at them both and shook his head in wonder, "You're lucky Deeg. They have your looks."

Cain playfully punched his son in the arm.

Hank and Emily also walked to the babies and cooed down at them. Even though they were robots, they were still grandparents to both babies. DG looked to try and find the last of the group. It seemed that Raw was still away in Winkieland trying to help Galdra set up a cabinet that would help her more than harm her. For the soon to be sixteen year old, there was much rebuilding to come. It was okay, Raw would see the little ones soon enough.

Azkadellia looked at the parents and then looked at the room, "Okay everyone, we've seen the miracle. Let's give the babies back and let the parents be."

Lavender hesitantly gave over her granddaughter to DG and did the same with her grandson over to Cain. As everyone left DG and Cain looked at one another and he gave her a kiss.

"So what did we decide on the name for a girl?" Cain asked and looked at his daughter in his wife's arms.

"Caitlin Adora Gale-Cain," DG announced and Cain nodded in agreement. She nodded to their son, "And what do we name the welcomed surprise?"

"Caleb," Cain said as he looked at his second son and then at DG, "Caleb Ian Gale-Cain."

"I like it," DG nodded.

* * *

A few years passed and Queen DG of the O.Z. worked on her sketches in the shade of the gazebo while her children played in the tall grass by the shores of Finaqua. She saw their eyes playfully look out from the reeds every other moment or so and she had to smile as they ducked back down when she waved.

"Don't go into the water, you don't have your swim suits on today," she called out to them and they laughed in response before she heard the faint sloshing of their rubber boots in the mud. She looked back down at her drawing and jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to find her husband staring down at her.

"I'm sorry about that, sweetheart," he apologized and kissed her on the cheek.

"How's Jeb?" she asked.

"He's doing good. He and Kelly have got a handful with little Ellie running around."

"I bet," she nodded and then jumped for a completely different reason. He smiled as she grabbed his hand and put it over her swelling stomach. She saw his smile light up when he felt them kicking, "They must know when you're here."

"Daddy!" two three year olds run up to Cain and jumped onto each one of his legs. One the perfect copy of her mother and the son the spitting image of his father.

"You two are all covered with mud," he laughed as they dropped from his legs leaving behind perfect imprints on his legs. He picked both of them up and swung them in a circle. They screamed in delight and he stopped before they all toppled over. DG laughed from her chair.

"Daddy?" Caitlin looked at her father's face.

"Yes, little princess?" he looked back at her.

"Tell us again," she begged.

"Yeah, about the twisters and the papay and Uncle Glitch and Raw," Caleb joined in with a wave of his hands, "And how you all saved Aunt Az from the witch!"

"Again, kiddos?"

"Please!" they both bounced in his arms. DG laughed louder at the sight. He sighed and looked at the sky and she knew they had won him over. They cheered and sat on the floor of the gazebo as their father started.

"A long time ago, in a far away place called Kansas, a young girl named Dorothy Gale lived in a farm house with her family…"

Far in the Eastern Forests a tall cave still stands that protects a treasure known for countless annuals. The only light that breaks through the darkness in the whole cavern shines down on a single object placed upon a tall pedestal centralized in the rock's face. The beam of light illuminates the tall pedestal where a red handled, black dagger lays peacefully atop dark red velvet. The handle shines brilliantly with swirls of blood red and gold. The blade itself is black and cold like ice.

Behind the pedestal, a figure still sits and waits. Waits for another fool who would dare to force more bloodshed and more pain on those they say they love. He sits tall against the throne made of rock, ready to tell the story of the Slayer of Hearts. To tell his story of his love lost.

To tell the story of the young queen-to-be of the O.Z. and her Tin Man… and how they brought the impossible to life.


End file.
